Science and Tech

Science and Tech

Hubble view of galaxy containing GRB 221009A BOAT
The brightest gamma-ray burst ever observed, GRB 221009A behaved in unexpected ways that might help us understand how they occur.
a drawing of a man's head with an eye inside of it.
Brain activity may be more like "ripples in a pond" rather than signals sent on a telecommunications network.
globular cluster terzan 5
Sun-like stars live for around 10 billion years, but our Universe is only 13.8 billion years old. So what's the maximum lifetime for a star?
a blue circle surrounded by red lines on a white background.
Neuroscientist and author Bobby Azarian explores the idea that the Universe is a self-organizing system that evolves and learns.
a pair of glasses with a fake bird's head on it.
At the turn of the millennium, a physicist fooled the global scientific community with the greatest discovery that never existed.
Black and white vintage illustration of a human brain viewed from the side, set against a solid light pink background.
7mins
Plato and Carl Sagan were wrong about the human brain, says a top neuroscientist.
NGC 1277 red and dead
With hundreds of billions of stars burning bright, some galaxies are already dead. Their inhabitants might not know it, but we're certain.
an image of a black hole in the sky.
There are 40 billion billion black holes in the universe. Here’s how our Solar System stacks up against ten of them.
a keyhole in the middle of a green field.
From gene expression to protein design, large language models are creating a suite of powerful genomic tools.
a black and white drawing of a group of people.
Mary Toft staged an elaborate hoax, but the pain was real.
a painting of a man standing next to a tree.
“Why are you unhappy? Because 99.9 percent of everything you think, and of everything you do, is for yourself — and there isn’t one.”
John Templeton Foundation
a drawing of a man standing next to a painting of a woman.
Who’s afraid of utopia? AI doubters have cold feet. History can warm them.
a close up of the sun with a black background.
We don't know what causes Miyake events, but these great surges of energy can help us understand the past — while posing a threat to our future.
a hand holding a tiny group of mushrooms.
2hr 9mins
Johns Hopkins professor Dr. Matthew Johnson answers 24 huge questions about psychedelics.
a woman holding a rainbow colored kite in the air.
If you think you know what sex, gender, and "the right thing to do" for trans youth and adults are, be sure it agrees with actual science.
a Tardigrade animal is shown in this image.
Tardigrades can completely dehydrate and later rehydrate themselves, a survival trick that scientists are harnessing to preserve medicines in hot temperatures.
a picture of a mountain with a blue circle in the middle.
Exoplanet LP 791-18d is likely to have an atmosphere and liquid water.
a pig and a baby pig are depicted in this illustration.
Energy balance is the greatest arbiter of weight gain. Embrace the "oinker diet."
a computer generated image of a wave
There is no such thing as a void in the Universe.
hubble tension
When Einstein gave General Relativity to the world, he included an extraneous cosmological constant. How did his 'biggest blunder' occur?
Artist’s impression of a gamma-ray burst
Gamma-ray bursts are so powerful they could vaporize the Earth from 200 light-years away. Recreating them in the lab is not easy.
a couple of squid swimming in the ocean.
Numerous videos online show that squid undergo a dramatic color-changing effect after being stunned or killed.
JADES deep image
Hubble showed us what our modern day Universe looks like. JWST's big goal was to teach us how the Universe grew up. Here's where we are now.
a close up of a red and white shrimp.
The intensely white coloration of the shrimp is a remarkable feat of bioengineering.
Loneliest galaxy MCG+01–02–015
With no other galaxies in its vicinity for ~100 million light-years in all directions, it's as isolated and lonely as a galaxy can be.
Once a cosmopolitan faith, Islam valued intellectualism and modernity. It was derailed by various geopolitical and religious forces.
a black and white drawing of two men in a library.
A new book by historian and author Paul Strathern argues that the Northern European Renaissance has long been overlooked.
three robots
Named "Phoenix," this AI-powered humanoid could be your next coworker.
zeeman splitting
If light can't be bent by electric or magnetic fields (and it can't), then how do the Zeeman and Stark effects split atomic energy levels?