Science & Tech

Science & Tech

Explore the discoveries that reveal how the world works, alongside the technologies that extend, reshape, and sometimes challenge what’s possible.

A chart showing the masses of black holes and neutron stars detected by LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA, highlighting how gravitational wave astronomy has become a mature science. Masses are plotted in solar masses on a logarithmic scale.
In 2016, humanity announced our first successful gravitational wave detection. 10 years and 389 events later, here's how far we've come.
A hexagonal telescope with a gold exterior and an open, black interior is shown against a black background, highlighting NASA habitable worlds observatory science.
The Astro2020 decadal report set the USA's agenda for space and ground-based astronomy. Here in 2026, we're clearly on the wrong course.
kaon decay
Two discrete symmetries, charge conjugation and parity, must be violated together for our Universe to exist. We haven't found enough of it.
Two lion cubs engage in animal play on the grass; one sits attentively while the other leaps into the air toward its companion.
From snowboarding crows to salmon-hat orcas, scientists are uncovering the deeper evolutionary purposes of play.
A sketch of a human figure bending over and looking at three overlapping pink magic-circles on a plain white background.
From early arcades to AI-generated worlds, video games have continually expanded the “magic circle” of play.
Wargames are helping answer one of the biggest questions of the AI era: how machines might reshape human decision-making in war.
colliding black holes
Many people, now with LLM assistance, regularly claim to discover game-changing revolutions. Scientists don't buy it. You shouldn't either.
extraterrestrial
Despite all that we've discovered, Earth remains the only planet definitively known to possess life. Here's how to find a second example.
Aerial map showing the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and proposed Future Circular Collider (FCC) tunnels near the France-Switzerland border, with highlighted borders and labels illustrating CERN particle physics research sites.
CERN's Large Hadron Collider superseded Fermilab's TeVatron in 2008, but now nears the end of its run. The ambitious FCC project comes next.
Six square images show different spiral galaxies: NGC 5247, Messier 100, NGC 1300, NGC 4030, NGC 2987, and NGC 1232, each with bright centers and spiral arms.
At and beyond the current frontiers of knowledge, many physicists have strongly held opinions. Can surveys point the way to breakthroughs?
A digital illustration exploring the origin of the universe—depicting a blue energy burst on the left and a geometric white grid forming a funnel shape on a purple background, evoking one of the biggest mysteries in science.
The original idea of the Big Bang was synonymous with a singularity: a point of zero volume. In this Universe, things never got that small.
A cartoon tooth fairy holds a tooth and magic wand, standing before colorful cosmic microwave background maps, blending whimsy with the wonders of theoretical physics.
Theoretical physics is notorious for wild ideas that seem, at first, to be nonsensical fantasies. That's where the tooth fairy comes in.
An illustration showing a detailed drawing of a kidney on the left and the silhouette of a pig on the right, both in red tones on a beige and orange background.
Animal-to-human organ transplants promise a future where survival no longer depends on another person’s death.
Book cover for "What Science Says About Astrology" by Carlos Orsi, featuring astrological symbols and geometric lines on a blue and black background, reflecting what science says about astrology.
Vague predictions and post hoc revisions help astrology feel meaningful, even while it fails empirical testing.
A vivid image of a bright, colorful galaxy with swirling red, blue, and white clouds of gas and dust, where galaxies collide amid distant stars in the dark, expanding universe.
Astronomers study our cosmic history through stellar and galactic archaeology. But we can't conduct archaeology in space. At least, not yet.
World map showing total radiance change from 2014 to 2022, with areas highlighted for dimming (purple) and brightening (yellow) in nighttime lights.
Light pollution now steals a pristine night sky from the majority of humanity. The rise of LED lighting, primarily since 2014, is to blame.
Illustration of multiple spiral galaxies and stars being pulled toward a central black hole in deep space, with blue and purple light streaks tracing the motion along a dark energy curve that shapes the universe.
Today, in the here-and-now, a full 13.8 billion years have elapsed since the start of the hot Big Bang. But would that be true for everyone?
atom quantum
In physics, we reduce things to their elementary, fundamental components, and build emergent things out of them. That's not the full story.
Three side-by-side images of a spiral galaxy show increasing detail and brightness, highlighting dust, stars, and a bright galactic center with radiating diffraction spikes.
Messier 77 is one of the largest nearby spiral galaxies, with an active, brilliant core. Here's what JWST's incomparable eyes saw inside it.
A robot stands next to a young girl who is sitting at a table, writing in a notebook with food and drinks nearby.
A look at what could be if we ignore the doomers and make the most of AI.