Latest

Text graphic displaying the words “The Latest” in large, bold, black serif font on a light background.
a blue and white porcelain frame with a picture of a piece of wood.
Due to export controls from China, the Europeans had to invent their own forms of porcelain. One type involves dead cows.
a row of traditional chinese medicine bottles with different kinds of oil in them.
It is generally ineffective, occasionally poisonous, and driving numerous species to the brink of extinction.
map with 68 millisecond pulsars
After 15 years of monitoring 68 objects known as millisecond pulsars, we've found the Universe's background gravitational wave signal!
a person standing on top of a mountain under a starry sky.
A proponent of panpsychism argues moral truth is inherent in consciousness.
A field of grass with a fence in the foreground.
From smartphone envy to life dissatisfaction, the root cause of much unhappiness is that we are wired to imagine how things could be better.
An old illustration connecting science and faith, depicting the map of the heavens.
We should acknowledge that there are faith-based myths running deep in science's canon.
A golden age robotics-inspired drawing of a human body on paper.
In history, every major technological advance has been used, for good and bad.
A black t-shirt featuring a picture of a man and a woman, causing brain zaps.
Synchronized activity between the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, and thalamus plays a role in memory consolidation.
faraday set stage for relativity
Michael Faraday's 1834 law of induction was the key experiment behind the eventual discovery of relativity. Einstein admitted it himself.
a black and white photo of a man with curly hair.
After Albert Einstein’s death in 1955, a pathologist—searching for the secret of genius—removed, dissected, and ultimately stole the mathematician’s brain.
a diagram of different shapes and sizes.
Better cognitive control over our decisions can stave off disappointment in our actions.
a red planet with stars in the background.
In one experiment, the Viking landers added water to Martian soil samples. That might have been a very bad idea.
a black and white photo of a person behind a fence.
Research suggests that employees with criminal records are far less likely to quit their jobs, perhaps due to a greater sense of loyalty.
big bang mirage
A cute mathematical trick can "rescale" the Universe so that it isn't actually expanding. But can that "trick" survive all our cosmic tests?
a black and white dog with a red background.
Genetic profiles of many dog breeds appear as if siblings mated.
an artist's rendering of a black hole in the sky.
In a distant galaxy, a cosmic dance between two supermassive black holes emits periodic flashes of light.
a map of the area where the trail is located.
Is the vast "Khan Khentii Strictly Protected Area" the final resting place of Genghis Khan?
"War and Peace" titles by Leonardo da Vinci and John F. Kennedy.
Take a closer look before judging a book by its title.
blue marble not 24 hours apollo 17
As the Earth spins and wobbles on its axis and revolves elliptically around the Sun, each day changes from the last. "24 hours" isn't right.
a painting of a buddha surrounded by other buddhas.
These core teachings make an ideal starting point for exploring Buddhist philosophy.