Latest

Text graphic displaying the words “The Latest” in large, bold, black serif font on a light background.
A yellow dump truck on a sand hill.
Sometimes called “the new gold,” sand is the second most exploited natural resource in the world after fresh water.
A bust of Marcus Aurelius placed next to a clock.
Like many of us, the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius hated waking up early, but his stoic philosophy always helped him get out of bed.
A book cover featuring the words "work ddi" and an intelligence equalizer symbol.
Engagement with generative AI is a business essential — but all companies should be vigilant.
A vibrant, high-resolution image of a spiral galaxy with rich clusters of stars and interstellar dust, where most stars formed.
Today, the star-formation rate across the Universe is a mere trickle: just 3% of what it was at its peak. Here's what it was like back then.
Abstract representation of the first possible molecules in a cosmic setting with a celestial body.
Earth wasn't created until more than 9 billion years after the Big Bang. In some lucky places, life could have arisen almost right away.
A diagram of a circle and a linear arrow.
The "End of Days" defines how we see time.
A silhouette of a person experiencing a near-death encounter in front of a fire.
Millions of people have had a near-death experience, and it often leads them to believe in an afterlife. Does this count as good proof?
Fingers forming in the womb
The first-of-its-kind map, which goes all the way down to the level of a single cell, could help prevent common birth defects.
An artist's illustration of a supermassive black hole with an accretion disk and relativistic jets.
As early as we've been able to identify them, the youngest galaxies seem to have large supermassive black holes. Here's how they were made.
A picture of a serene forest with tall trees and a peaceful pond.
The ominous cloud of acid rain hasn't vanished but rather drifted toward the developing world.
derinkuyu
A basement renovation project led to the archaeological discovery of a lifetime: the Derinkuyu Underground City, which housed 20,000 people.
A stylized illustration of the timeline of the universe, depicting major events from the big bang through the cosmic dark ages to the modern era.
For 550 million years, neutral atoms blocked the light made in stars from traveling freely through the Universe. Here's how it then changed.
A rainbow over wind turbines.
As wind power grows around the world, so does the threat the turbines pose to wildlife. From simple fixes to high-tech solutions, new approaches can help.
A photo of a man in front of a blue background, possibly resembling Wolfgang Pauli.
Wolfgang Pauli was a brilliant, well-liked physicist and a scathing critic of balderdash.
Portrait of Benjamin Franklin in his study.
We each have the same 24 hours in the day. How will you spend yours?
A digitally rendered image of a black hole with surrounding accretion disk and stars, depicting the era of the first galaxies.
Even after the first stars form, those overdense regions gravitationally attract matter and also merge. Here's how they grow into galaxies.
A collage of photos featuring Carl Sagan standing next to a spacecraft.
Teller and Sagan debated fiercely over nuclear proliferation. But was the conflict as personal as it was intellectual for Teller?
A man with long hair and a beard, embodying the concept of free will.
A volley of new insights reignites the debate over whether our choices are ever truly our own.
Two hands reaching for a speech bubble.
Many conversations start awkwardly and derail from there, but a few simple techniques can put them back on track.
A vibrant image of a galaxy with clusters of population II stars, showing second-generation stars in various colors against the backdrop of space.
The first stars in the Universe were made of pristine material: hydrogen and helium alone. Once they die, nothing escapes their pollution.