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.

Orange character with large eyes floating against a forest backdrop.
Google’s “Genie” could be used to create a wide range of interactive environments for more than just games.
A tick clinging to a blade of grass against a green background.
More than 90% of ticks that bit treated volunteers were dead within 24 hours.
a man sitting in a wheel chair next to a laptop.
Dennis Klatt developed trailblazing text-to-speech systems before losing his own voice to cancer.
Series of six images displaying the diffraction patterns of light as it passes through various shaped apertures.
6mins
“You’re not meant to understand what I just said, because I don’t understand what I just said…” Physicist Brian Cox on one of the most complex theories in space science.
A split image showing Emmy Noether with equations on the left, and a "before and after" physics diagram illustrating symmetry conserved quantity on the right.
First derived by Emmy Noether, for every symmetry a theory possesses, there's an associated conserved quantity. Here's the profound link.
Spectators observing a dramatic eruption from active volcanoes at twilight.
Volcanologists warn that magma-filled vents evolve over time, leading to an underestimation of the number that might erupt — especially those capable of the biggest explosions
Elderly man examining a blood pressure monitor at a table.
During the industrial era the cost of artificial light fell off a cliff — and the road to illumination was paved with ingenuity and slaughter.
standard model structure
A great many cosmic puzzles still remain unsolved. By embracing a broad and varied approach, particle physics heads toward a bright future.
A telescope dedicated to astronomy pointing towards a starry sky at night, with beams of light overcoming the atmosphere to create a visual path.
Lasers, mirrors, and computational advances can all work together to push ground-based astronomy past the limits of our atmosphere.
Even if you aren't in the path of totality, you can still use the solar eclipse to measure how long it takes the Moon to orbit Earth.
Monochrome portrait of a man with curly hair superimposed on an abstract background featuring skyscrapers, geometric patterns, and elements of machine learning marketing.
Big Think talks to Konrad Feldman — founder of advertising tech innovator Quantcast.
Solar total eclipse revealing the sun's pink chromosphere and prominences.
There are only a precious few minutes of totality during even the best solar eclipses. Don't waste yours making these avoidable mistakes.
Digital composite image contrasting social interaction with neuralink technology and data analysis.
If you guessed “staying up all night to play video games,” you’d be right.
Illustration of a woman with cybernetic enhancements playing video games with her mind, surrounded by various futuristic interface elements.
Perrikaryal uses an EEG to translate her brain activity into beating bosses in "Elden Ring" and beyond.
A man holding a transparent rectangular object up to his eyes, reminiscent of the analytical gaze of Robert and Frank Oppenheimer.
A rift in thinking about who should control powerful new technologies sent the brothers on diverging paths. For one, the story ended with a mission to bring science to the public.
Man sitting on a chair on stage during a Frans de Waal event.
His career helped define humanity’s place in the world by bringing us “a little closer” to our ape relatives.
MACS J0717 galaxy cluster dark matter
There are a wide variety of theoretical studies that call our Standard Model of cosmology into question. Here's what they really mean.
Historical map illustration depicting a planned city layout with a circular central area and radiating streets.
A small Ohio town tried to escape America’s addiction to rectangular grids. It didn’t last long.
Bullet Cluster separation mass gravity x-ray lensing
NASA's only flagship X-ray telescope ever, Chandra, still works and has no planned successor. So why does the President want to kill it?