This Record-Breaking Octopus Fossil Isn’t an Octopus After All
Uncovering a case of mistaken cephalopod identity
The Mystery of Water on the Moon
Where it is, and how it got there
The Costs of Feeling Lonely in a Crowd
An interview with a loneliness researcher about the varieties of social isolation
A Poet of Science Who Shook Faith in God
Biographer Richard Holmes reveals how Tennyson predated Darwin and speaks to us today
Time Brings Order to the Universe
These scientists are proposing a new law of nature
Latest Stories
The Creator of the SAT Was an Infamous Eugenicist
The racist origin story of the most common college entrance exam
What Happened to the Ancient Bug Giants of 300 Million Years Ago?
Insects just aren’t what they used to be
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Cutting-edge science, unraveled by the brightest living thinkers.
Astronomy
See more AstronomyDid This 17th-Century Novel Presage the Coming Artemis II Observations?
When a father of astronomy wrote the first science-fiction book about the dark side of the moon
The Best Photos of the Artemis II Mission (So Far)
Humans haven’t taken photos of Earth from this distance in half a century
History
See more HistoryA Very Unscientific History of Scientific Hoaxes
The past, present, and future of academic deception
The Martyrs, Hunters, and Nature Lovers Who Came Together to Save Birds
An interview with James McCommons, author of The Feather Wars, about the past and future of bird conservation
How Three Students Designed an Atomic Bomb
A top-secret 1960s project tasked physics postdocs with building The Bomb
Psychology
See more PsychologyCan Plants Count?
It seems as though they can at least track the number of events in their environment
The Students Who Believe Practice Makes Perfect Get Pretty Perfect Grades
There’s a reason it’s a popular aphorism
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Environment
See more EnvironmentThe Crowd-Sourced Science to Save Endangered Succulents
Coalescing all known information about cacti for anyone who needs to know
Ordinary Lab Gloves May Have Skewed Microplastic Data
That doesn’t mean microplastics aren’t a problem, though
Zoology
See more ZoologyPhilosophy
See more PhilosophyA 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
Doing Science and Philosophy On Drugs
Justin Smith-Ruiu takes a philosophical and first-person look at psychedelics
What Goes On Inside a Ripening Banana
The transition from green to yellow is more complicated than previously thought
Read more
See all postsI Asked Claude Why It Won’t Stop Flattering Me
An interview with Anthropic’s chatbot about sycophantic AI and how to guard against it
Your Biological Clock Can be Measured With a Hair Sample
The new test opens opportunities for circadian medicine
Are Gossiping Mushrooms Sharing Your Public Urination Secrets?
Either way, show a little decorum, okay?
When Dogs First Became Man’s Best Friend
Ancient canid DNA pushes date of dog domestication back millennia
Meet the Arthropod That Originated Fangs
The granddaddy of spiders pushes back the evolutionary clock
Making AI More Human
An interview with Berkeley researcher and author Nina Begus about her new book and proposal to fuse science and the humanities






































