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.

photosynthesis
Photosynthesis is powerful but very inefficient. Humans can improve on this biochemical process to help the planet.
Two ICU physicians offer a new approach to stopping it.
silicon life
On Earth, carbon can form millions of compounds, while silicon is largely stuck inside rocks. But elsewhere, silicon could form the basis of life.
There's a fatal prion infection killing deer and elk across North America.
human survival
6mins
Humans won’t survive if we stay on Earth. Michio Kaku explains.
time
Modern cosmology conjectures different possible fates for the Universe and thus for the end of time. Details depend on which model is right.
The biology behind your office's air conditioning war.
fireworks
From the explosions themselves to their unique and vibrant colors, the fireworks displays we adore require quantum physics.
grenades
Before gunpowder was introduced to the West, medieval Arabs devised grenades using crockery.
Higgs boson
On July 4, we celebrate the tenth anniversary of the discovery of the Higgs boson, the missing piece of the Standard Model of particle physics.
oldest trees
1859's Carrington event gave us a preview of how catastrophic the Sun could be for humanity. But it could get even worse than we imagined.
Does memory start to work only at a certain age?
The idea of gravitational redshift crossed Einstein's mind years before General Relativity was complete. Here's why it had to be there.
Since at least 600 BC, people have been mesmerized by the concept of the infinite.
Research sheds light on social behavior of these mysterious predators.
inflationary beginning big bang
No matter how beautiful, elegant, or compelling your idea is, if it disagrees with observation and experiment, it's wrong.