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Hidden Fungal Networks Could Stretch from the Earth to the Sun a Billion Times Over

A new map of global mycorrhizal fungi details the massive scope of the vital systems

Turning the Psychedelic Experience into a Math Problem

Extended DMT trips could help scientists probe a new theory of reality that puts consciousness first

The Venus Flytrap Mystery That Vexed Darwin, Solved

The carnivorous plant’s speedy reaction time sets it apart from other plants

Beavers Don’t Just Build Dams, They Build Nations

A journey to the hidden settlement of nature’s busy hydro-engineer

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Inside the Largest Whale Graveyard on Earth

Whale remains have accumulated in this Indian Ocean site for 5 million years

How to Stop a Killer Asteroid

From high-speed battering rams to gravity tractors, the technology exists to protect the planet. The question is whether humanity will act in time—and in concert.

274 Years Ago Today, Benjamin Franklin Flew a Kite

But a Frenchman beat him to the electric punch by a month

Read Stories from Our Newest Print Issue: Precarious

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The Cephalopods Are Coming

Fossil records reveal Earth’s mass extinctions are followed by a rise of ocean cephalopods. They’re rising again.

Schrödinger’s Kittens Are All Grown Up

Offspring of the most famous thought experiment in physics are now testing the very fabric of the universe

The Most Precarious Day in the Universe

On the same day the world descended into war, physicists saw reality itself unraveling

Who Was Nancy Grace Roman?

The trailblazing astronomer lends her name to the newest space telescope slated to deliver unprecedented insight into the universe

Lessons in Chemistry, 19th-Century Style

She wrote the bestseller that made young people fall in love with science

Did a Roman Legionnaire Wear Eyeliner?

An ancient makeup bottle turns up far from its Egyptian home

The Ancient Roots of “Sewer Socialism”

Urban planning wasn’t so different 4,000 years ago

Solving Feynman’s Formula for Eating Well, Parking Your Car, and Finding a Mate

The 50-year mystery suggests humans may be more rational than we thought

Food Noise Goes Quiet with GLP-1s

But there’s a lot we still don’t know about these intrusive thoughts of food

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The Bad Seed and the Problem of Blame

A conversation with behavioral geneticist Kathryn Paige Harden about the heritability of vice

A 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

Looking for Signs of Intelligence in Chatbots

A new test for AI suggests some newer LLMs are less smart than older models

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The Healing Power of Dreaming Under Anesthesia

This new five-step protocol could make surgery a lot less painful

How to Heal People with Science Fiction

A new healthpunk movement aims to teach physicians to use their imaginations

Koalas Were in Trouble Before Humans Arrived in Australia

DNA evidence points to environmental upheaval as a cause of their Late Pleistocene decline

Vast Hidden Structure Discovered Beneath Antarctica

The massive formation is older than the continents

Human Ancestors Were Using Fire Earlier Than Previously Thought

Early hominins seemingly first tamed a flame 1.8 million years ago

Check Out the Newest Fluorescent Amphibian

Another terrestrial organisms glows with UV light