Can AI “Feel” Pain?
Simulated pain can make some AI models override instructions and put their own welfare ahead of humans
Peptides Are Spreading on Social Media. Here’s How Platforms Can Better Protect Public Health
For starters, they need to take the same approach they did to vaping
Loss of Bone Mineral Density Linked to Cognitive Decline
With an assist from AI
Singing Lemurs Borrow a Trick From Opera Singers
And their songs are just as haunting
50 Years Ago, NASA Unveiled its First Space Shuttle
And “Star Trek” fans named it
Latest Stories
Ancient, Armored Fishes Crushed Jaw Evolution
Placoderms evolved unique approaches to the first-ever vertebrate jaws
Are Our Antidepressants Harming Fish?
It’s hard to say, but we’re definitely exposing them to our monoamine drugs
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 AstronomyThe 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
Why Elon Musk’s “Self-Growing” Moon Cities Are Tragically Flawed
There’s simply not enough water
History
See more HistoryHow Do You Read Ancient Charred Scrolls? Make Your Own
A new technique could unlock the secrets of the Herculaneum scrolls
The Brutal Origins of Bear-Baiting
The practice exploded in popularity following the Norman Conquest
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 EnvironmentThis New “Devil Flower” Species Doesn’t Photosynthesize
It’s a rare plant with an “enigmatic and devil-like essence”
This Is What Happens When 1,000 People Bury Their Underwear for Science
Talk about getting to the bottom of things
Zoology
See more ZoologyThis Dolphin Steals from Fish for Its Meals
Putting a dent in dolphins’ reputation as the “good guys of the sea”
This Stray Cat Turned Out to Be the First New Cat Species Discovered in Over a Century
It was living on a diet of rice, noodles, and eggs
Humpback Whales Grieve for Lost Offspring, Video Evidence Shows
Behavior we’ve never seen before
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.
The Oldest Evidence of Drug Use is Also a Story About Addiction
A 25,000-year-old cautionary tale
Read more
See all posts“Ferritin Face” Is Trending—But Can Your Skin Really Reveal Low Iron?
There’s a kernel of truth to it, but it’s not the whole story
Muscle Loss is a Big Warning Sign of Dementia
But obesity has a more complicated relationship with the disease
Is This Massive New Study on the Benefits of Whole Grains Part of the “War on Protein” RFK Jr. is Ending?
When it comes to whole grains and health, a new analysis suggests the more the better
Dinosaur Eggs Have Never Been Discovered This Far South Before
Researchers are hypothesizing how a clutch was kept warm
Seeking a Trippy Placebo
Blinding clinical trials for psychedelic medicines has been notoriously difficult
The Story of Walking Upright is Written in the Bones of Our Ancestors
How we learned to stand on our own two feet
