20 Minutes of Exercise Is as Good as a 90-Minute Nap If You’re Sleep Deprived
Don’t sleep on this new finding
This “One-in-a-Million” Fossil Has 450-Million-Year-Old Soft Tissue
Only the second fossil of its type to be discovered
The Return of a Discredited Pseudoscience
Eugenics is rearing its ugly head again in today’s crucible of politics and culture
The Resistance Is Here
They didn’t plan to be activists. But scientists have united to overturn Trump’s drastic cuts to science.
An Astrobiologist’s Guide to the Best Sci-Fi Reads
Cosmic lesbian necromancers, cyberpunk Canterbury Tales, and so much more
Latest Stories
Small Iguanodon Fossil Sheds Light on Dino Diversity
It lived in Japan long before Japan was an island
Five Images, Six Decades: Capturing the Iconic “Earthrise” Photo
The first was taken August 23, 1966
Read Stories from Our Newest Print Issue: The Stupid Issue
See more
The Trouble with Cancer Screening
Tests for cancer often lead to more confusion than clarity. Here’s how to understand them.
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Cutting-edge science, unraveled by the brightest living thinkers.
Astronomy
See more Astronomy
A Dazzling Image of a Dying Star, Featuring the Great Recycling System of the Cosmos
Ashes to ashes, stardust to stardust
Extreme Space Weather Could Delay Your Next Flight
Researchers say surges in solar activity can wreak havoc on aircraft
History
See more History
How the Ancient Greeks Interpreted Their Dreams
Certain concepts such as metaphor may derive from early dream interpretation
When Stupid Was a Diagnosis
A dark history that is in danger of returning as support for people with disabilities withers
Psychology
See more Psychology
Are You in Danger of Becoming a Robot?
How interacting with social chatbots could reduce your “personhood”
How Our Perceptions of Aging Can Affect Our Social Lives
Is it as easy as “mind over matter?”
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Environment
See more EnvironmentAn Ice Island as Big as Manhattan Just Broke Off Greenland
It’s a “remarkable” parting of the ways
How Our Attraction to Natural Fixes Can Stymie Climate Progress
Does a human-made problem need a natural solution?
Who Keeps Spreading the Seeds of This Parasitic Plant?
Cockroaches are just the half of it
Zoology
See more ZoologyNew Species of Groundsnake Named After Guns N’ Roses Guitarist and Noted Herpephile Slash
It likes the nightlife
Dolphins Eavesdrop on Their Prey—and Each Other
They strategically choose when to whistle or click
Philosophy
See more PhilosophyWhat 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 Inventor of the Thinking Machine Didn’t Worry. Neither Should You
In this age of AI anxiety, listen to your heart
Babies Born Under Sugar Rationing Grew Into Adults with Lower Cancer Risk
Britain’s postwar sugar rationing was an accidental experiment. Decades on, it’s revealing how early diet shapes cancer risk, aging and eating habits for life.
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Why Human Giants Defy the Laws of Physics
Without different anatomical proportions, a scaled-up body would collapse under its own weight.
You’re Not a Universal Mosquito Magnet
But you might be particularly enticing to different species
No One Knows How Whale Sharks Give Birth—But This Neonatal Shark Discovery Provides Some Clues
A rare find on a fishing expedition
How Listening to Ocean Waves Can Predict Volcanic Eruptions
The speed of the soothing sounds could spell disaster
