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.

Green decorative geometric shape with the text "Rewriting the Rules of Life" written in black serif font across the center on a light green background.
15mins
“Until very recently, I thought I would die with the same genome that I was born with.”
A middle-aged man with glasses and long hair, wearing a floral shirt, stands indoors in a warmly lit room with blurred background furniture.
55mins
“Old systems of the past are collapsing, and new systems of the future are still to be born. I call this moment the great progression.”
Split image: Left side shows a military aircraft releasing a missile mid-air; right side displays a US dollar bill and Iranian currency partially overlapping.
From bombed reactors to inflation and blackouts, a cascade of crises is testing the Islamic Republic’s resilience like never before.
Book cover of "The Great Math War" featuring three black-and-white portraits—one of Georg Cantor—and handwritten math notes, with subtitle about three mathematicians fighting for math’s foundations.
In this excerpt from "The Great Math War," Jason Socrates Bardi explores how Georg Cantor revolutionized mathematics and reshaped how our finite minds conceived of the infinite.
Silhouette of a human figure made up of colorful dots with a cloud-like mist behind it, set against a dark background.
13mins
Everything ever seen — every star, mountain, and face — makes up less than 5 percent of the universe. Astrophysicist Janna Levin reminds us that the rest — dark matter and dark energy — is invisible, mysterious, and everywhere. We are the luminous exception in a universe of darkness.
supermassive black holes
Such massive, early supermassive black holes have puzzled astronomers for decades. At last, we've finally figured out how they form.
A telescope beneath a colorful, abstract visualization of the universe, with a starry night sky in the background.
Every observation out into deep space is also a look back in time.
One side of the Moon always faces us: the near side. The "dark side" of the Moon began as a mere metaphor, but today, science can weigh in.
A man lounges and yawns on a red chaise longue while a woman in a dress, caught in brilliant boredom, yawns at a table in a room with pink curtains and patterned carpet.
Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.
hoag's object
Spirals, ellipticals, and irregulars are all more common than ring galaxies. At last, we know how these ultra-rare objects are made.
Abstract collage with network nodes, a vintage gear, a textured gray circle, and green gears on a graph background, divided into four colored quadrants.
An introduction to "The Engine of Progress" from Jason Crawford, founder of the Roots of Progress Institute.
Illustration of a person using a telescope among large stacks of paper, with red graph-like squares in the background.
Real progress demands rules built for uncertainty — not for the few innovations dominating today’s tech landscape.
A rocket launches above layered geometric shapes depicting clouds, a building, and a crowd, all set against a black grid background.
Before we can build the future, we have to imagine it.
Five books are displayed upright in a row: "Gödel, Escher, Bach," "Man’s Search for Meaning," "Red Mars," "The Road to Reality," and "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.
These expert-recommended books reveal how big ideas can shape — and sometimes redefine — human progress.
Two men sit on outdoor chairs holding microphones, engaged in conversation at an event. A conference sign is visible in the background.
To turn technical breakthroughs into real-world change, AI must overcome the friction of politics, policy, and human institutions.
A woman sits in a chair facing a group of people seated on the floor in a casual indoor setting, with a vintage or sepia filter adding an air of longevity to the scene.
From treating specific diseases to targeting aging itself, Progress Conference 2025 explored the many routes to extending life.
A man holding a microphone speaks to an audience in front of a bookshelf and a display with logos, including "Roots of Progress Institute" and "Big Think.
At the foundation of America’s progress movement are immigrants who still believe this country can build.
Two people sit in wicker chairs outdoors, holding microphones and having a conversation about energy abundance. Other people are visible in the blurred background.
Barriers to energy abundance — and how to overcome them — were front and center at Progress Conference 2025.
An older man with gray hair and glasses speaks into a microphone, gesturing with one hand, against a green and grid-patterned background.
With new labs, funding models, and institutions, metascience is reinventing the machinery of discovery.
A collage featuring vintage documents, a grayscale moon map with labeled lunar missions, colored dots, and an old astronomical chart on a black background.
Government-spec’d glory projects produce tech demos. Enduring progress demands a better way forward.