A New Species of Pit Viper Emerges in the Himalayas
DNA helped differentiate the venomous serpent from its closest relative
We May Owe Our Intelligence to Our Unique Neurons
Our cortical neurons may hold the key to our clever brains
What Makes Humans Stupid
It takes intelligence to get things spectacularly wrong. An essay on our undoing.
11 Books to Read This July
Marvelous maggots, biological warfare, AI survivalists, space myths, and more
Watch This Cyborg Cockroach Test Its New Diving Suit
The custom apparatus lets the cybernetic insects breathe underwater
Latest Stories
How This Mouse Lives at a Higher Elevation Than Any Other Vertebrate
It’s become uniquely suited to handle below-freezing temperatures and a diet of poisonous plants
If You Want Animals to Understand You, Speak Slowly
A new study suggests almost all animal communication shares a common, slow rhythm
How a Heat Wave Disturbs Generations of This Sex-Changing Spider
A maternally inherited bacteria that turns males into females is foiled by a brief warm spell
Read Stories from Our Newest Print Issue: Precarious
See moreThe Cephalopods Are Coming
Fossil records reveal Earth’s mass extinctions are followed by a rise of ocean cephalopods. They’re rising again.
Schrödinger’s Kittens Are All Grown Up
Offspring of the most famous thought experiment in physics are now testing the very fabric of the universe
The Most Precarious Day in the Universe
On the same day the world descended into war, physicists saw reality itself unraveling
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Cutting-edge science, unraveled by the brightest living thinkers.
Astronomy
See more AstronomyWhen Galaxies Clash
Is a new image of star systems colliding a vision of our Milky Way’s future?
The Loving Embrace of the Milky Way
Researchers have discovered that our galaxy’s outermost spiral arms are wide open and farther away than we thought
See Some of the Best Astronomy Photos of the Last Year
From Earth to the moon to deep space—and back again
History
See more HistoryHow Hannibal’s War Elephants Helped to Determine His Route Through the Alps
When you go into battle with nearly 40 gigantic pachyderms, you need to take the shortest path possible
The Rabies Vaccine Debuted Nearly 150 Years Ago Today
Pioneering microbiologist Luis Pasteur helped save the life of a dog-bitten boy
This Was a Big Week for Marie Curie, More Than 120 Years Ago
Despite steep odds, she became the first woman in France to earn a doctorate in science
Psychology
See more PsychologyChildhood Trauma Echoes Through Romantic Relationships
Abuse, neglect, and loss can reverberate in a partner’s behavior
Does Your Chatbot Need a Therapist?
Scientists want to use LLMs to model human emotions and study human mental health
How Humans Are Like Bloodhounds and Bats
A conversation with writer Richard Louv, who coined the term “nature deficit disorder”
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Environment
See more EnvironmentCan We Geoengineer Our Way Out of a Super El Niño?
A natural experiment in sun-scorched Australia points the way
Can We Air-Condition Our Way Out of Climate Change?
No. But in the midst of intense heat waves it may be necessary to save lives.
Zoology
See more ZoologyHow Animals Communicate Across Species
From honeyguides to cleaner fish, cross-species cooperation abounds
How to Not Get Mauled on Your Hike This Summer
A new study goes deep on the interaction between activities and hostile wildlife
Philosophy
See more PhilosophyThe Inventor of the Thinking Machine Didn’t Worry. Neither Should You
In this age of AI anxiety, listen to your heart
Science Is Political—and Spiritual
Author and physicist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein on the crisis in American science
Aliens Probably Have Consciousness
A conversation with a philosopher about extraterrestrial and machine minds
Why Do Men Develop Parkinson’s Disease More Often Than Women?
Differing gene expression patterns could be to blame
Read more
See all postsHunting for a New Hallucinogen in the Lilliputian Psychedelic
The chemical substance behind these visions isn’t like any other known to science
The Surprising Evolutionary Trade-offs Between Fangs, Stingers, and Claws
The science behind nature’s different puncture tools
Here’s Just How Disgusting Your Kitchen Sponge Is
There may be illness lurking just to the right of the faucet
Modern Humans and Neanderthals May Have Shared a Cave-Dwelling Culture
A cave in southern Türkiye is spilling its ancient secrets
Speaking More Languages May Help Slow Brain Aging
A new study suggests multilingual people have younger brains
Memory Loss May Not Be the Earliest Sign of Alzheimer’s
Your cognitive flexibility may go first
Here’s How Mosquitoes Survive the Deadly Viruses They Transmit
Tamped-down viral action keeps the mosquito vectors alive until they infect humans
Synthetic Cells to Sell Synthetic Biology
Researchers claim a major breakthrough with the first human-made cell. But is it “alive?”
Cosmic Shockwave Reshaped a Newly Discovered “Bow and Arrow” Galaxy
The discovery was made by a citizen scientist






































