Science for the People
A growing movement connects scientists with policymakers and the public to shape a better society.
Send us a link
Yes, Your Loud Neighbors Are Driving You Bonkers
Why are we so sensitive to residential noise?
They Probed Quantum Entanglement While Everyone Shrugged
This year's winners of the Nobel Prize in Physics were driven by curiosity, skill, and tenacity.
I Didn't Know My Mind Was So Strange Until I Started Listening to It
I took part in an experiment to decipher my inner thoughts.
The Attack of Zombie Science
They look like scientific papers. But they're distorting and killing science.
Humans Are Overzealous Whale Morticians
We hastily dispose of dead whales, ignoring the ecological significance of their carcasses.
Swimming in Noise
For sea life, the ocean is becoming an intolerable racket.
Moving Beyond Mimicry in Artificial Intelligence
What makes pre-trained AI models so impressive-and potentially harmful.
We're Killing Ourselves with Work
Evolution favors less work and more leisure.
Can We Prove the World Isn't a Simulation?
You might think we have definitive evidence we're not in a simulation. That's impossible.
NASA Is on the Cusp of a New Era
Jennifer Heldmann laughed when I pointed out that she used the word "unprecedented" five times in a recent paper.
It's Not Irrational to Party Like It's 1999
Must we always follow reason? Do I need a rational argument for why I should fall in love, cherish my children, enjoy the pleasures…
What Did the Past Smell Like?
When people entertain transporting to the past, 19th-century Berlin, say, they don't often imagine a dramatic shift in smellscape.
How the Coronavirus Stays One Step Ahead of Us
At first, no one looked twice at the new variant. Detected in South Africa in January 2021, the novel coronavirus lineage, called C.1, appeared similar to other variants.
One of the Most Egregious Ripoffs in the History of Science
A new history of the race to decipher DNA reveals Shakespearean plots of scheming.
The Disneyfication of Atomic Power
John Jay Hopkins's visit to Japan in 1955, as an informal emissary of "Atoms for Peace," must have seemed surreal to everyone.
The Electromagnetic Force of Fridge Magnets
Science is not just something we do at school or professionals undertake in labs. It is at the heart of how everything works.
What's Fueling Today's Extreme Fires
As I write this at the end of July, 79 wildfires are burning across 12 states in the U.S.
Electrons May Very Well Be Conscious
Panpsychists look at the many rungs on the complexity ladder of nature and see no obvious line between mind and no-mind.Illustration…
Psychedelics Open a New Window on the Mechanisms of Perception
Everything became imbued with a sense of vitality and life and vividness. If I picked up a pebble from the beach, it would move.
When a Good Scientist Is the Wrong Source
Six weeks ago, a reporter published what seemed to be a blockbuster story, one that, if true, would expose the greatest scandal in recent history.
The End of Reductionism Could Be Nigh. Or Not.
Quantum mechanics seems to have a problem with the order of time, which might signal the need for an entirely new type of law.
How to Make Sense of Contradictory Science Papers
The science you can come across today can often appear to be full of contradictory claims.
Why Misinformation Is About Who You Trust, Not What You Think
I can't see them. Therefore they're not real." From which century was this quote drawn? Not a medieval one. The utterance emerged in February 2019 from Fox & Friends presenter Pete Hegseth, who was referring to … germs.
×