Most Bird Wings Aren’t Optimized for Flight
They’re flying on a wing and a prayer
Mapping the Illegal Wildlife Trade Using Pangolin DNA
Genetic material from these improbable creatures helps pinpoint exploitation hot spots
For Every Patient Their Own Drug
Patients with exceedingly rare genetic diseases fall through the cracks of the medical system. This doctor is designing drugs for them, one at a time.
How to Build a Trustworthy Robot
A conversation with a robot researcher about a possible future where robots are like teammates in hospitals, factories, and homes
Does Sexual Attraction Cloud Our Rejection Detection?
The ability to read signals may be impaired by arousal
Latest Stories
The Mysterious Hantavirus Outbreak That Put the Virus on the Western Map
More than 30 years ago, in the Four Corners region of the US, an Old-World pathogen was discovered in the New World
Giant Squid Discovered Lurking off the Australian Coast
The massive sea creature left behind some DNA
These Beetles Might Be Flying Ubers for Worms
Trigger warning for anyone squicked out by wriggling masses of things
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Cutting-edge science, unraveled by the brightest living thinkers.
Astronomy
See more AstronomyThe Best of NASA’s Newly Released Photos From the Artemis II Mission
These are the highest-resolution images of the moon ever captured by human beings
A Tiny Rock in the Outer Solar System Has an Atmosphere—But It Shouldn’t
Astronomers aren’t sure why
History
See more History
Rome Was Built Today
Celebrating the scientific and technical contributions of Rome on the mythical birthday of the eternal city
Psychology
See more PsychologyWhat Your Dream Life Says About You
A conversation with a dream researcher about how dream content and recall may reflect personality and thinking style
The Mix-up at the Heart of the Supreme Court’s Conversion Therapy Ruling
A psychiatrist on the crucial distinction the case glosses over, how media coverage has made it worse, and why that’s dangerous for LGBTQ+ youth
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Environment
See more EnvironmentNature’s Overlooked Role in National Security
A conversation with an ecologist and a national security expert about the underappreciated risks posed by ecological disruption
Farewell to a Giant of Botany
Peter Raven, the transformative conservationist and father of “coevolution,” passed away this week
When a Species’ Survival Hinges on Every Single Embryo
The two female Northern white rhinos keeping the species alive
Zoology
See more ZoologyFruit Flies: Masters of Hypergravity
These insects not only survived gravity four times stronger than Earth’s, they thrived
Philosophy
See more PhilosophyThe Bad Seed and the Problem of Blame
A conversation with behavioral geneticist Kathryn Paige Harden about the heritability of vice
A Light in the Dark: Finding the Good in the Natural World
Is it absurd to think that science can inform our values?
How ‘Tiny Shortcuts’ Are Poisoning Science
Seemingly harmless data tweaks are undermining the integrity of the entire field. We must define the problem to prevent it
How Potatoes Shaped the Genes of the First People to Grow Them
Who’s domesticating who?
Read more
See all postsAI Music vs. My Parents
My folks were taken in by the latest algorithmic “artist,” and it scares me
What Happens in the Brain When “Psychedelic Virgins” Trip for the First Time
Cue the Grateful Dead
The First Male Neanderthal Genome
Genetic insights from a 110,000-year-old individual recovered from a cave in Siberia
What Hurt This Jurassic Sea Monster?
The ichthyosaurs had some tremendous survival skills
Uncovering Hidden Martian Glaciers With Drones
We know they’re there, we just don’t know how deep they are
How Does Your Brain Know a Cat Is a Cat?
A conversation with renowned neuroscientists Lisa Feldman Barrett and Earl Miller about categories, “folk psychology,” beginner’s mind, and thinking fast and slow
