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The Mountain Man Who Measured the Sky’s Brilliance
Pioneering alpinist and scientist Horace Bénédict de Saussure brought us a curious relic to capture the blues above us
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The Books That Blew These Scientists’ Minds
12 leading researchers tell us about the book that opened a new world for them
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Love in the Time of Climate Change
Megha Majumdar’s acclaimed novel A Guardian and a Thief explores a near-future where scarcity forces hard choices
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The Farmer Who Glimpsed a Rare Volcanic Birth
Dionisio Pulido watched as Paricutín tore through his fields—suddenly, scientists flocked there from around the globe
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New Theory of Learning Upends the Lessons of Pavlov’s Dog
Maybe we don’t need so many reminders to remember something after all
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An Unlikely Culprit Causes Lower Blood Sugar at Higher Altitudes
A scientific mystery seemingly solved
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Short sharp looks at science
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How Animal Suffering Can Ruin Lab Experiments
Larry Carbone on his 3 greatest revelations while writing The Hidden Lives of Lab Animals
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Space Exploration Speaks to the Core of Who We Are
Astrobiologist Caleb Scharf’s 3 greatest revelations while writing his latest book, The Giant Leap
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Recreating the Smells of History
Using chemistry, archival records and AI, scientists are reviving the aromas of old libraries, mummies, and battlefields
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What Would Richard Feynman Make of AI Today?
The scientific sage was always suspicious of grand promises delivered before details were understood
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Ann Druyan on How NASA’s Golden Records Got Made
A comic about humanity’s love letter to interstellar space
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We’re Evolving Beyond This Rock Right Now
Life is already busy making its transition to being interplanetary
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The Confabulations of Oliver Sacks
A neurologist reckons with recent revelations about the celebrated doctor and author
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He Erased Memory in Mice. Then Thought About Erasing His Own
Sunk in grief and alcoholism, this neuroscientist discovered the power of memory in himself
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To Be More Creative, Immigrate
Creativity flourishes when people cross borders—and when those borders blur through deep, human connection
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Naked Clams and Sunken Ships
A brazen plan to grow an animal that has been the bane of sailors for centuries—to feed the world
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The Problem with Farmed Seafood
We’re decimating the ocean to feed farmed fish. But an innovative solution has surfaced.
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Genetic Ancestry Doesn’t Tell Your Whole Story
If you’re looking for your genetic origin story, your DNA will only take you so far.
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AI’s Innate Bias Against Animals
Chatbots and robots are a setback to animal welfare—but have the potential to be a step forward
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The Hidden Landscape Holding Back the Sea
The fate of our planet’s coasts rests on Antarctic bedrock
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Gaia’s Got a Fever
An aging Earth, like an aging body, is increasingly vulnerable to heat’s fatal strikes
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In the Land of the Eyeless Dragons
The cave-dwelling olm is a canary in the coal mine for environmental change
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Visit the 7 Most Extreme Planets in the Universe
From molten glass rain to oceans of lava, an intergalactic tour of the most terrifying and beautiful climates out there
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The Sean Carrolls Explain the Universe
Why are we here? Is there life on other planets? The renowned scientists who share a name share their answers to life’s big questions.
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The Soviet Rebel of Music
He composed on a computer in a dangerous time. His echo is still heard today.
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How Whales Could Help Us Speak to Aliens
Learning to decode complex communication on Earth may give us a leg up if intelligent life from space makes contact.
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How Energy Politics Played Out on the White House Roof
The quick removal of Jimmy Carter’s futuristic solar panels echoes more recent feuds over renewables -
“Hell Heron”: New Dinosaur Species with a Head-mounted Sword Discovered in Africa
The dramatic find sheds new light on the diversity of spinosaurs -
Grinning During Sex Isn’t Contagious, But It Does Require Tempo
A new study of bonobos shows that they grin during vigorous socio-sexual interactions -
The Missing Pieces of the Donner Party Narrative
People have only recently included Indigenous voices in the story -
Is a Strictly Enforced Fishing Ban Saving the Yangtze?
Ecologists detect promising, early signs of river recovery -
The Dark Side of the Illicit Pet Frog Trade
Where’d you get that frog? -
The Tortoises That Inspired Modern Robotics
W. Grey Walter’s early automatons sparked an ongoing fascination with artificial animals -
Babies Are Exposed to More Forever Chemicals in Utero Than Previously Thought
New research into umbilical cord blood shows a startling number of PFAS -
Can Zapping Our Brains Make Us Less Selfish?
New research shows transcranial stimulation can boost altruistic behavior -
Space Age Technology Reveals Secrets of Bronze Age Sword
Scientists in Berlin performed a battery of tests on a 3,400-year-old weapon -
The Long, Dirty History of Our Capitol’s Waters
The recent Potomac River disaster follows centuries of pollution—but things are looking up -
Newly Discovered Prehistoric Crocodilian Had Legs That Went All the Way Up
This stilt-legged reptile stalked the grasslands of Triassic Britain -
The Retiree Who Inspired the Wright Brothers to Take Flight
Octave Chanute’s engineering prowess laid the foundation for powered planes -
A Rare Great White “Ghost” Caught in the Mediterranean
It’s good news for a vulnerable species on the decline -
Did Astronomers Finally Witness a Black Hole Eat a White Dwarf for the First Time?
Analysis of a violent, unprecedented cosmic outburst -
The 3-D Secrets of the “Gravity Hole” Under Antarctica
“How does our climate connect to what’s going on inside our planet?” -
The World Is Becoming Too Loud for Birds
Some sound baffling could give birds the reprieve they need from our noise pollution -
Chins: The Evolutionary Accident Unique to Homo Sapiens
New research reveals the evolutionary accident that is the human chin -
Does Belief in God, not Political Party, Drive Conservatism?
Religious “nones” may be less socially liberal than they used to be -
Scientists Create Map of Deadly Scorpion Hotspots
“The findings could save lives”
