The Latest from Big Think

Text reading "The Latest" in a large, serif font on a light background.
An illustration of a royal holding a red apple.
Almost all royal lines try to legitimize their rule with legendary origin stories. Here are five of the strangest examples.
A fish fossil is on display in a museum.
Metaphors like the Great Chain of Being can lead people to misunderstand evolution and humanity’s place in the web of life.
A man with sunglasses and a hat on against a purple background.
Decades of Alzheimer's research might have missed a cellular culprit hiding in plain sight.
superconductor quantum levitation
Is LK-99 truly a room temperature superconductor? These 4 tests, none of which have yet been passed, will separate fact from fiction.
A bottle of pills illustration on a pink background.
The patron saint of calling BS, Harry Frankfurt, died watching his philosophy become more urgent than ever.
Comparison of pain relievers.
Pain relievers like acetaminophen and ibuprofen are made with chemicals derived from oil. Scientists have shown how to make them from trees.
A vintage photograph capturing a couple by a turntable in black and white.
Your heart rate reveals your brain activity, which in turn can predict hit songs — and maybe stock performance, as well.
An image of a spiritually enlightened man posing with a celestial blue ball in tribute to Carl Sagan.
In polarized times, our shared cellular origin can unite us in solidarity and awe — from the embryonic scale to the grandest cosmic perspective.
fusion device LLNL
The National Ignition Facility just repeated, and improved upon, their earlier demonstration of nuclear fusion. Now, the true race begins.
A poster displaying different skulls of other human species on a purple background.
There were at least eight other human species, some of whom existed for far longer than we have. Who were they?
A collection of written profiles featuring men with beards and moustaches.
Voyage into the lawless world of experimental literature.
el gordo JWST rotated cropped
From when its light was emitted, the El Gordo galaxy cluster might be the most massive object in all of existence. Here's how JWST sees it.
A photo of a skull conjured through necromancy in a pile of dirt.
The Te’omim Cave in the Jerusalem Hills is filled with skulls and oil lamps — objects a new study says may have been used in dark rituals.
A group of men standing in a grassy area at Fossil Cycad National Monument.
Fossil Cycad National Monument held America’s richest deposit of petrified cycadeoid plants, until it didn’t.
Fervo Energy
Ironically, the company did so using technology perfected by the oil industry.
A black and white photo of a metal barrel with an lk-99 arrow pointing to it.
An army of replicators belonging to national laboratories, research universities, and amateur garages is rushing to replicate ambient superconductivity in LK-99.
An image of a sunset through a window.
How the simple act of watching twilight can radically transform our perception of the world and our role within it.
John Templeton Foundation
A person's hand is interacting with a blue screen.
AI programs like ChatGPT can create "thanabots" based on deceased loved ones' digital communications, allowing us to talk with the departed.