Science and Tech

Science and Tech

earendel
The Hubble Space Telescope, 32 years after its launch, broke the all-time record for most distant star. It won't do better.
Illustration of two hands touching or aligning a series of parallel lines and chevron patterns, all overlaid with a blue filter, evoking the precision and symmetry often found in mathematics.
5mins
Michio Kaku believes math is the mind of God.
John Templeton Foundation
earendel
The light from Earendel took 12.9 billion years to reach Hubble. The star is millions of times brighter than our Sun and 50 times as massive.
mercury diamonds
Due to a crust of carbon, the absence of oxygen, and constant bombardment from meteorites, the planet Mercury may be littered with diamonds.
flying-v plane
A radical redesign of commercial aircraft, called the flying-V plane, could increase fuel efficiency by 20%, greatly reducing emissions.
On Nov. 13, 1946, a scientist dropped crushed dry ice from a plane into supercooled stratus clouds.
Revolutionary techniques for understanding brain functions in animals could soon help us understand how emotions guide our lives.
mutations random
Mutations that confer malaria resistance occur more frequently in people who live in regions where the disease is endemic.
gravitational waves
To study the origin of the Universe, we could build a constellation of six expensive spacecraft — or we could just use the Moon.
how many planets
For some reason, when we talk about the age of stars, galaxies, and the Universe, we use "years" to measure time. Can we do better?
spillback
COVID-19 and other microbes have shed light on disease spillover from animals to humans, but we can also spillback disease to wildlife.
From life on Earth to the planet itself, there are four ways our planet will actually experience "the end," no matter how we define it.
astrology to astronomy
From the tablets of the Babylonians to the telescopes of modern science, humans have always looked to the skies for fundamental answers.
javelin missiles
Javelin missiles have been an effective force multiplier, the latter-day equivalent of the sling that David used against Goliath.
Galactic archaeology has uncovered a spectacular find: the Milky Way already existed more than 13 billion years ago.
chimpanzees
Chimpanzees are able to consider the context of social interactions and can accept unfavorable outcomes — sometimes.
alien life
Multiple lines of evidence — physical, chemical, and biological — must converge for scientists to conclude that alien life has been found.
The way that the ancient Megalodon adapted to water temperature has important implications for modern marine creatures.
every square degree
Even a tiny sliver of the Universe can reveal the cosmic story of what's out there and how it came to be the way it is today.
michio kaku
Michio Kaku predicts, among other things, how we'll build cities on Mars and why cancer will one day be like the common cold.
joro spider
Can a non-native species be a friend instead of a foe?
Understanding the factors behind recent growth could help us better approach inequality.
dizzy standing
Scientists find two 30-second techniques that prevent dizziness upon standing.
Generational illusions
4mins
We’re wrong about what other people think - and that has harmful impacts on the next generation.
Stand Together
null island
Where the prime meridian meets the equator, a non-existent island captures our imagination — and our non-geocoded data.
The closest star system to Earth, just over 4 light-years away, has three stars and at least one Earth-sized planet. Is it time to go there?
"I was part of the surgical team that conducted the first pig-to-human heart transplant in a living patient."
cosmic dark ages
The James Webb Space Telescope could help scientists learn about the cosmic dark ages and how they ended.