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 close up of a metal object with a reflection in it.
The researchers rebuked writers, scholars, and public figures for lazily perpetuating the notion of widespread gender bias in academic science.
black hole central singularity
Yes, "the laws of physics break down" at singularities. But something really weird must have happened for black holes to not possess them.
a painting of a bust of a man with a red and blue background.
"In order to seek truth," Rene Descartes once wrote, "it is necessary once in the course of our life to doubt, as far as possible, all things."
a man and woman holding a newborn baby
Let us share this miracle with mothers in poor countries.
a large machine
The robot can drive heavy steal beams into the ground at a rate of 1 per 73 seconds, which will help expedite solar farm construction.
A child standing in front of a wall of jellyfish.
Despite a reputation for catastrophe and cat killings, curiosity is a beneficial drive that improves our lives and well-being.
a diagram of the energy storage system.
Old coal mines can be converted into "gravity batteries" by retrofitting them with equipment that raises and lowers giant piles of sand.
stellar remnants black holes planet
The odds are slim, but the consequences would be literally world-ending. There really is a chance of a black hole devouring the Earth.
A diagram showing the structure of an electroweak big bang.
The problem of the electroweak horizon haunts the standard model of cosmology and beckons us to ask how deep a rethink the model may need.
two particles different wavelength speed of light
Contrary to common experience, not everything needs a medium to travel through. Overcoming that assumption removes the need for an aether.
a computer generated image of a balloon and a plant.
We have become the greatest threat to ourselves and to life on this planet. We need a set of agreed-upon safeguards to preserve our future.
life beyond earth
Back in 1990, we hadn't discovered a single planet outside of our Solar System. Here are 10 facts that would've surprised every astronomer.
composite JWST ALMA HST Fomalhaut
The nearby, bright star Fomalhaut had the first optically imaged planetary candidate. Using JWST's eyes, astronomers found so much more.
a robot hand holding a magnifying glass.
A panel of healthcare professionals much preferred responses that came from the chatbot in a recent study.
A pair of scissors appears to cut through a black and white illustration of a DNA double helix.
4mins
Forget AI. Gene editing is still our most powerful — and dangerous — technology.
four exoplanets super-earth mini-neptune
They're the most common type of exoplanet known today, and many astronomers have called them "super-habitable." None of that is true.
a painting of a couple of zebras on a blue background.
The discovery has enormous implications for the development of novel anti-anxiety medications.
a close up of a statue
As the stream of AI-generated art turns into a deluge, NFTs could become a cornerstone of the Virtual Renaissance.
perseverance ingenuity mars
Mars, the red planet, was a world we knew almost nothing about until our first spacecraft visited it. In just ~50 years, how far we've come!
a multicolored image of a cell phone.
Rapamycin is potentially the most powerful anti-aging drug ever discovered. However, due to its unlucky history, few know of it.