# space    

why the future is steampunk: steam-powered spacecraft could explore asteroids

Buckle up steampunk enthusiasts, it turns out that not only are steam-powered space probes possible, they might be perfect for hopping between comets and asteroids on research and mining missions.
why the future is steampunk: steam-powered spacecraft could explore asteroids

# health    

did we cure hiv? actually, we don't know…

After more than a decade, doctors think they were finally able to replicate the case of the Berlin patient, the only man known to be cured of HIV. But the London patient offers more questions than answers.
did we cure hiv? actually, we don't know…

# tech    

how killer robots can reshape the world's militaries and geopolitics

The American military may be the best in the world, but too often, it's fighting 21st-century wars with 20th-century ideas. Its foreign counterparts have an opportunity to master the wars of the future.
how killer robots can reshape the world's militaries and geopolitics

# tech    

why and how we're building and securing the quantum internet

In the next ten years or so, your internet experience will be the same as today. But that internet may be built on complex quantum interactions instead of bits and bytes flying between routers and servers.
why and how we're building and securing the quantum internet

# space    

why we need to learn more about super-earths

Super-Earths are often thought of as just bigger version of our own planet on steroids. But these worlds offer us amazing insights into everything from plate tectonics to planetary formation and classification.
why we need to learn more about super-earths

# science    

why gravity is the force you think you understand, but actually don't

If you think you know how gravity works, you're probably wrong. While we can explain what it does, figuring out how has been a multi-decade long exercise in frustration and dead ends.
why gravity is the force you think you understand, but actually don't

# science    

why the world's tallest mountains might be hundreds of miles under our feet

Determining the tallest mountains on Earth seems like a fairly straightforward task, but it actually depends on which mountains you measure and how you measure them...
why the world's tallest mountains might be hundreds of miles under our feet

# tech    

welcome to the internet of (dumb, hackable, and possibly dangerous) things

Gadgets connected to the internet and controlled by apps are everywhere, even in things that don't need to be linked global communication networks. Unfortunately, they're not working out well for us...
welcome to the internet of (dumb, hackable, and possibly dangerous) things

# science    

did asteroids and comets help create our continents?

Asteroids and comet brought our planet water and the chemical precursors for life. But could they have also given rise to our continents and help set plate tectonics in motion?
did asteroids and comets help create our continents?

# health    

why you can't "hack yourself" to live for two centuries

Biohacking is the next big craze for those obsessed with taking charge of their health beyond just diet and exercise. But while it sounds like science, there's no evidence it actually works.
why you can't "hack yourself" to live for two centuries

# health    

when confronted with measles, anti-vaxxers and their kids get vaccinated

It's one thing to speculate about how evil vaccines are and dismiss the illnesses they're meant to prevent. But after seeing the effects of measles and whooping cough up close, parents and teenagers are losing their anti-vaxx attitudes.
when confronted with measles, anti-vaxxers and their kids get vaccinated

# space    

there may not be dark matter or energy, just gravity. we just don't know how.

Theoretical physicists seem ready to move on from looking at dark matter as unknown particles we've yet to discover, and consider it a side-effect of gravity at cosmic scales.
there may not be dark matter or energy, just gravity. we just don't know how.

# science    

the world's insects are going extinct, and they might take us with them

You might not care that that some places on Earth are seeing 75% declines in some insects. You really should. When they're gone completely, so are the ecosystems in which we grow our food.
the world's insects are going extinct, and they might take us with them

# science    

how junk science can land you on death row

Far too much of what passes for forensic science in courtrooms fails to meet basic scientific standards while sending people to jail. And those who could fix this problem are refusing to help us.
how junk science can land you on death row

# astrobiology    

a baby star and a cloud of organic molecules may help us in the search for aliens

A star named V883 Ori is going through a growth spurt, and as it does, it's showing us just how abundant the building blocks of life might be throughout the universe.
a baby star and a cloud of organic molecules may help us in the search for aliens

    newer articles
older articles