Does Religion Change Our Brains?
Devotional practices seem to shape our highest organ in distinct ways
Fire in the Brain: How Psychosis May Arise When the Body Attacks Itself
Antibodies made by the immune system can sometimes target human brain cells, producing psychiatric symptoms. Researchers aim to better identify such rare cases as well as fine-tune treatments
What Do You Know About the Deep-Sea Barbie Pig?
What about the Ping Pong Sponge? The Casper the Ghost Octopus? The Gummy Squirrel?
A Blow‑by‑Blow Account of What Would Happen If the Yellowstone Supervolcano Erupted Now
Would it be the end of humanity?
Latest Stories
How Fast You Age During 40s May Predict Memory Lapses in Your 50s
As if middle-aged people don’t have enough to worry about
Read Stories from Our Newest Print Issue: The Stupid Issue
See moreThe Elegance of a Stupid Question
Are computers in mathematics rewriting the definitions of stupid and smart?
The Resistance Is Here
They didn’t plan to be activists. But scientists have united to overturn Trump’s drastic cuts to science.
The Return of a Discredited Pseudoscience
Eugenics is rearing its ugly head again in today’s crucible of politics and culture
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Cutting-edge science, unraveled by the brightest living thinkers.
Astronomy
See more Astronomy
The Moon has a New Once-in-a-Century Crater
The lunar surface is more dynamic than you might think
The Crescent Nebula: A Gas Bubble Surrounding a Violently Dying Star
A light show that will get even more dramatic in time
History
See more HistoryHow a Horse Flu Outbreak Spurred an Early Animal Rights Crusade
In 1872, New York’s devastating epizootic gave the ASPCA’s young founder a powerful moral argument for animal protection
How Do You Read Ancient Charred Scrolls? Make Your Own
A new technique could unlock the secrets of the Herculaneum scrolls
Psychology
See more PsychologyEnvy at the Ballot Box
Majority voting may make us less willing to tolerate advantages for others
I’m Part of the Team Writing the Next Bible of Psychiatry—For the First Time, the DSM Will Use Biology to Understand Mental Disorders
Part of the challenge of finding a biomarker for mental illness is the environment’s significant influence
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Environment
See more EnvironmentAstronaut Photos Taken Just 13 Years Apart Show a Major Shift in City Lights
We’ve moved on from the golden glow
This New “Devil Flower” Species Doesn’t Photosynthesize
It’s a rare plant with an “enigmatic and devil-like essence”
Zoology
See more Zoology
Behold, Crawzilla, the Not-Quite-Biggest Crayfish Ever Caught
And what it can teach us about body size
Philosophy
See more PhilosophyCould AI Have Consciousness That Isn’t Human-Like?
Philosopher Peter Godfrey-Smith on AI consciousness and existential risk
What a Picture of a Dog Has to Do with Reason and Logic
People who can’t see images in their minds challenge an old philosophical standby
What Makes Humans Stupid
It takes intelligence to get things spectacularly wrong. An essay on our undoing.
How Gentle Tapping on the Shin Heals the Brain
The shin bone’s connected to the… brain?
Read more
See all postsWhy We Stay Afraid
A newly discovered brain region in mice solves a longstanding mystery about how fear lingers after threats fade
How the Pro‑Nicotine “Wellness” Movement Rebranded an Addictive Drug
The movement is focused on the idea of “clean” nicotine use, such as pouches, which don’t contain tobacco
Gentle Exercise May be More Effective Than Medications at Managing Chronic Pain
Side effects may include an improved mood
In a Culture Obsessed with Staying Young, We Ignore the Many Benefits of Aging
Things can get better with age
Can a Drug Reverse Age-Related Muscle Weakness?
New research focuses on the neuromuscular junction
Two Big Stick Insect Species Emerge from Australia
They were hiding in plain sight among their close relatives
Isaac Asimov Showed Us How to Avoid the AI Apocalypse
But the famed sci-fi author’s 80-year-old rules of robotics may need some updating
What Australia’s Hidden Caves Can Teach Us About Martian Terrain
The Nullarbor terrain isn’t that different than the red planet
