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I Built My Own Artificial Neural Network
With a little help from one of the 2024 Nobel Prize Winners in Physics.
The Porthole
Short sharp looks at science
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The Bird Photo of the Year
This award-winning shot offers a candid look at the cagey turkey vulture.
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Excavating a Language at the End of the World
How an old dictionary is revealing new perspectives on an Indigenous culture.
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How We Solved the Hole in the Ozone
A scientist’s first-hand account shows the world can tackle a global environmental crisis.
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The Strange Romance of Seahorses
A marine biologist and photographer gets up close and personal with mysterious pygmy seahorses.
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Feeling Gravity’s Pull
Two theoretical physicists have a lively conversation about how abstract concepts can feel down-to-Earth.
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Your Cells Are Dying. All The Time.
Some go gently into the night. Others die in freak accidents or deadly invasions, or after a showy display.
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The Origin of the Asteroid That Killed the Dinosaurs
The story of the doom-bringing rock may help us prevent a repeat catastrophe.
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Consciousness, Creativity, and Godlike AI
American writer Meghan O’Gieblyn on when the mind is alive.
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The Soviet Rebel of Music
He composed on a computer in a dangerous time. His echo is still heard today.
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How Whales Could Help Us Speak to Aliens
Learning to decode complex communication on Earth may give us a leg up if intelligent life from space makes contact.
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The March of the Mushroom Robots
Scientists are making mycelia-machine hybrids that can crawl and roll. -
Will Plants Grow on the Moon?
Three Earth plants will soon make a new home on the lunar surface. -
This Tiny Frog Is Fierce
The see-through amphibian goes big to protect its eggs. -
Is Discovery Inevitable or Serendipitous?
The role of chance and predictability in scientific breakthroughs. -
Our Magnificent Ocean
Richard Powers on his 3 greatest revelations while writing his latest novel, Playground. -
Frozen Reefs
Can cryogenically freezing coral stop time long enough to save them? -
The Mystery of the Cosmic Radio Globs
What violent galaxy smashups may have wrought across the universe. -
Puberty Hasn’t Changed Since the Ice Age
The blueprint was set at least 25,000 years ago. -
When Do Kids Start Playing Pretend?
It’s complicated. -
7 Famous Fossil Hoaxes
How scientists over history excavated the fakes. -
How History Did the Dodo Wrong
Who are you calling inept and unfit? -
An Artist on Why AI Isn’t the End of Art
A conversation with Issue 56 cover artist Chris Buzelli. -
The Stealthy Assassin Robberfly
Don’t underestimate this slender predator from the British grasslands. -
Falling Down a Rabbit Hole in Real Life
Neurologists are just beginning to understand Alice in Wonderland syndrome. -
We’re Bad at Understanding Our Political Opponents
Even when we think we know them, we don’t. -
A Movie Camera for the Cosmos
The Rubin observatory will allow scientists to see how the cosmos has evolved over time. -
Our Morals Change with the Seasons
How our sense of what’s right and wrong fluctuates through the year. -
How to Find Baby Sharks
Where do shark moms give birth? Remarkably, scientists are just figuring it out. -
Our Memories Are Stored in Triplicate
Parallel copies allow recollections to be both stable and adaptable. -
The First Good Glimpse of the Earth’s Mantle
The deepest extract from the middle layer of the Earth offers a wonderland of insights.
