This Cookie Was a Plastic Bottle
Would you eat a trashy treat?
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.
The Return of a Discredited Pseudoscience
Eugenics is rearing its ugly head again in today’s crucible of politics and culture
An Astrobiologist’s Guide to the Best Sci-Fi Reads
Cosmic lesbian necromancers, cyberpunk Canterbury Tales, and so much more
Latest Stories
Are You in Danger of Becoming a Robot?
How interacting with social chatbots could reduce your “personhood”
Read Stories from Our Newest Print Issue: The Stupid Issue
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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 AstronomyA 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
In Stunning Color, a Celestial “Treasure Chest” Full of Stars
A majestic cometary globule some 7,500 light-years away
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 PsychologyHow Our Perceptions of Aging Can Affect Our Social Lives
Is it as easy as “mind over matter?”
The Conditions on a US Aircraft Carrier Sound Concerning
Can science point the way toward designing environments to maximize mental health in such situations?
Extraordinary Experiences Are More Common Than You Think
How you make sense of the experience shapes its impact your well-being
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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 Zoology
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
AI Can See Optical Illusions
And it might teach us about our own brains
Read more
See all postsWhy 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
Why It Might Be Time to Rethink the Human Family Tree
The way we classify humanity’s ancient relatives is a mess. But there’s a simple fix.
What a Blissful Psychedelic Trip Looks Like Inside the Brain
Personality and context shape the psilocybin experience in ways that show up on brain scans
