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.

Sequential illustrations showing the motion of a cat falling and landing on its feet, demonstrating the righting reflex.
Cats twist and snakes slide, exploiting and negotiating physical laws. Scientists are figuring out how.
A search bar with the phrase "the future" being typed and a blue search button below it. An arrow cursor points to the search phrase. The background is black.
Can AI-powered “answer engines” replace the 10 blue links model?
A vintage computer mainframe with multiple interconnected units, cables, and knobs, displayed in front of a red background on a wooden floor.
Alan Turing and Christopher Strachey created a ground-breaking computer program that allowed them to express affection vicariously when so doing publicly, as gay men, was criminal.
A collage of speech bubbles containing randomly oriented text, scribbles, and abstract shapes on a black background. Some bubbles feature words like "news" and "missed" partially visible.
In "Not Born Yesterday," author and cognitive scientist Hugo Mercier makes the case that misinformation is overrated — and other human foibles are underrated.
An open processor is connected by circuit lines to a black chess piece, with binary code in the background, symbolizing the intersection of technology and strategy, where every move could deceive even the sharpest minds.
"If you’re training an AI to optimize for a task, and deception is a good way for it to complete the task, then there’s a good chance that it will use deception."
JWST deep field vs hubble
From inside our Solar System, zodiacal light prevents us from seeing true darkness. From billions of miles away, New Horizons finally can.
A computer-generated image shows the airflow patterns around a streamlined aircraft, highlighted in various colors to depict different airflow intensities.
Hypersonic aircraft can fly at least five times the speed of sound. They would make for terrifying weapons.
A collage featuring the text "Forgotten Hardships," images of a struggling family, a graph, a historical farming scene, hands with a skin condition, and an illustration of a caliper.
9 minutes of cruel history may cure the anti-progress delusion.
A large astronomical observatory, featuring the futuristic dome structure of an ELT, stands majestically in a desert landscape. A small red vehicle is visible near the base of the observatory.
The Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) will have a light-collecting power 10 times greater than today's best telescope.
Illustration of a skull with crossed bones on a vibrant green background. The phrase "Memento mori!" is boldly inscribed beneath the skull.
Executive coach Jodi Wellman explains how to “make it to the end with no regrets.”
Black and white sketch of a bald man with a long beard, wearing a suit and bow tie, looking to his left.
Adams was infamously scooped when Neptune was discovered in 1846. His failure wasn't the end, but a prelude to a world-changing discovery.
A robotic hand is centered against a blue background, surrounded by a green and blue circuit board pattern, symbolizing the intricate processes of math AI and why machines learn.
It's knowledgeable, confident, and behaves human-like in many ways. But it's not magic that powers AI though; it's just math and data.
A neural network illustration shaped like a brain with the text "REWIRE YOUR BRAIN" in the center against a dark background. Two arrows circle the image, suggesting change or transformation.
9mins
Dr. Aditi Nerurkar on toxic resilience and the importance of gratitude and breathing.
Unlikely Collaborators
For its 2-year science anniversary, JWST has revealed unprecedented details in "the Penguin and the Egg." Here are the surprises inside.
7mins
Is human overpopulation alarmist hype with disturbing consequences? Oxford data scientist Hannah Ritchie debunks the overpopulation myth.
A brown rock with two googly eyes attached to its upper half, set against a plain black background.
3mins
The mind-blowing theory that everything is evolving—from minerals to music—explained in 3 minutes by a Carnegie scientist.
earth sun magnetic magnetosphere
As the Sun ages, it loses mass, causing Earth to spiral outward in its orbit. Will that cool the Earth down, or will other effects win out?
An illustration of a futuristic city cradled in a hand, set against a gradient orange background, with the title "The Techno-Humanist Manifesto" at the top.
The world needs a moral defense of progress based in humanism and agency.
Krishna is framed by two speech bubbles, set against a textured yellow and blue background, symbolizing the integration of new wave chatbots.
Our relationship with chatbots is undergoing a sea change — here’s how the transformation will most affect you and your team.
dark energy accelerated expansion
Just 13.8 billion years after the hot Big Bang, we can see objects up to 46.1 billion light-years away. No, this doesn't violate relativity.