Science and Tech

Science and Tech

X-ray view cartwheel galaxy
There are two types of missing, or "dark" matter: baryonic (made of normal matter) and non-baryonic. Have we finally found the normal stuff?
A doctor is examining a boy's eye.
The topical gene therapy could one day help millions regain their vision.
An illustration of a man with glasses in front of a colorful background.
His grandfather, a member of Oppenheimer’s atomic bomb team, foresaw the potential of nuclear energy to power cities — not destroy them.
A drawing of a man with a beard and a pot.
Alchemy had its golden age in the 17th century, when it counted Isaac Newton and Robert Boyle among its adherents.
John Templeton Foundation
A collection of different colored minerals on a black background.
Rocks and minerals don’t simply reflect light. They play with it and interact with light as both a wave and a particle.
m87 jets black hole spitzer
Nothing can escape from a black hole. So where do Hawking radiation, relativistic jets, and X-ray emissions around black holes come from?
Three silver boxes with designs on them.
These clocks burn powdered incense along a pre-measured paths, each representing a different amount of time.
An artist's rendering of a neutron star in space.
Ultracold gases in the lab could help scientists better understand the universe.
dark matter
Back in the 1930s, Fritz Zwicky postulated the existence of dark matter. No one took it seriously until Vera Rubin's work: 40 years later.
Two men sitting in front of a modern typewriter.
Probability, lacking solid theoretical foundations and burdened with paradoxes, was jokingly called the “theory of misfortune.”
double planet illustration
Can two planets stably share the same orbit? Conventional wisdom says no, but a look at Saturn's moons might tell a different story.
Challenges conventional electric vehicle myths by highlighting a car with an attached battery.
We're separating the facts about EVs from the fiction.
ideal night sy conditions
All stars, eventually, run out of fuel and die. Given all the stars we can see and the vast distance to them, are any of them already dead?
An image of a blue object in a blue box depicting axions.
The hunt for the elusive particles continues.
Lunar footprints.
Over 50 years since humans last walked on the Moon, astronaut footprints and rover tracks are still visible. But they won't last forever.
The little book about aliens on the moon.
We may be the last generation born not knowing if we are alone in the Universe.
A drawing using the loci method depicting a tunnel with variably colored pillars.
Modern memory athletes use this ancient technique to memorize thousands of digits of pi.
cosmic inflation
Today, our observable Universe extends for 46 billion light-years in all directions. But early on in our history, things were much smaller.
pink floyd's dark side with a touch of light.
Invisible cloaks. Ghost imaging. Scientists are manipulating light in ways that were once only science fiction.
The concept of the warp drive is currently at odds with everything we know to be true about physics.
A woman utilizing her intuition examines the universe through a telescope against a pink backdrop.
Scientists can make substantial progress without fully understanding exactly what they're doing.
young exoplanetary system PDS 70
The giant impact theory suggests our Moon was formed from proto-Earth getting a Mars-sized strike. An exoplanet system shows it's plausible.
a sweet treat made with aspartame.
Unless you're drinking a dozen diet sodas per day, you have nothing to worry about — and maybe not even then.
A juxtaposition of photos featuring individuals reflecting the philosophy of science through a book.
Philosophy is often seen as little more than armchair speculation. This is a shame, as philosophy often has helped science reach new heights.
Hybrid animals emerge when two different species from the same family reproduce. For many years, the kunga’s lineage was just another genetic mystery. 
a drone flying over a forest with trees in the background.
The $300,000 Model A is a true flying car — it can be driven on roads as well as flown in the air. And it's one step closer to your garage.
Three women, embodying the male hunter myth, standing confidently on a rock and armed with spears.
In numerous cultures worldwide, women were just as involved in bringing home the prehistoric bacon as their male counterparts.
An image of a pancreatic cell in a dark room.
It could lead to earlier diagnoses, better treatment, and fewer deaths from pancreatic cancer, which kills 88% of patients within five years.