FICTIONToward Eternity: A Novel by Anton Hur. HarperVia, 2024 ($26.99)Anton Hur’s Toward Eternity blends the music of science and of poetry to tell a tale of future love, war, and tiny robots known as nanites. Like a reverse-engineered allegory, the...
There is a glaring gap in our knowledge of the physical world: none of our well-established theories describe gravity’s quantum nature. Yet physicists expect that this quantum nature is essential for explaining extreme situations such as the very early universe...
August 20, 20244 min readMany Older People Maintain and Even Gain Cognitive SkillsContrary to stereotypes of the doddering elderly, research shows that half of people older than age 70 stay mentally sharpBy Lydia Denworth As I watched my parents’ generation...
August 20, 20241 min readReview: The Science of Listening Goes Far Beyond the EarsA new book about the art and science of listening explores our sonic universeBy Dana Dunham On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our...
Some of the most satisfying number puzzles require little mathematical know-how. In fact, cracking the one below calls for thinking that is quite nonmathematical. I don’t know where or when I first encountered this sequence—it must have been around middle...
A type of hormone-disrupting forever chemical was found in the Amazon’s airSebastian Brill/MPI-C Some of the most pristine parts of the planet have been contaminated with perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a class of chemicals that are nearly indestructible. Now,...
August 19, 20243 min readWatch the Blue Supermoon Rise TonightAugust’s supermoon will be the first of four supermoons in a rowBy Daisy Dobrijevic & SPACE.comSuper moon known as 'Blue Moon' rises over the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California,...
August 20, 20244 min readTrump’s ‘Gish Gallop’ Debate Tactic Comes from CreationistsA dishonest creationist debating tactic shouldn’t go unchallenged in American life. Or in national politicsBy Madhusudan Katti June’s fateful Biden vs. Trump debate led not just to the sudden...
Coca leaves have psychoactive and therapeutic propertiesFabiano Sodi/Alamy The mummified brain tissue of two people found in a 17th-century crypt in Milan, Italy, contains traces of cocaine, revealing that the drug was being used in Europe 200 years earlier than...
Higher temperatures mean more use of air conditioningmegapress images/Alamy When temperatures turn extreme, we rush to adjust our heating or cooling systems in an attempt to remain comfortable. With severe weather events becoming ever more frequent due to climate change,...
