The world’s most powerful particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider at the CERN laboratory near Geneva, has failed to find any of the hoped-for particles that would lead physicists beyond the Standard Model of particle physics. But it’s possible that the LHC has been producing such pivotal new particles all along, and that we’re just […]
For the first time in four years, there wasn't a new Star Wars movie to talk about in December. But really, that may turn out to be just the calm before the storm of news that's sure to come out of Lucasfilm in the next 12 months before the release of Episode IX. If 2018 […]
The human brain is routinely described as the most complex object in the known universe. It might therefore seem unlikely that pea-size blobs of brain cells growing in laboratory dishes could be more than fleetingly useful to neuroscientists. Nevertheless, many investigators are now excitedly cultivating these curious biological systems, formally called cerebral organoids and less […]
MEXICO CITY—"Alerta sísmica! Alerta sísmica!" Few things strike as much fear into the hearts of Mexico City residents as the words “seismic alert” blaring from speakers in schools and parks. It means an earthquake is rumbling up from the Pacific coast, and you have 60 to 90 seconds to get someplace safe. I had just […]
This story originally appeared on Mother Jones and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration. When hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria recently pounded Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico, the severity of the storms was often attributed to climate change. “Four Underappreciated Ways That Climate Change Could Make Hurricanes Even Worse,” was the headline in the Washington Post; “Hurricane Harvey’s […]
How true does my online persona have to be? I like to be really curated. But my significant other is very honest. Too honest if you ask me. Who’s right? Should we be our raw authentic selves, or strike a pose? This feels like a quintessential dilemma of the digital age, but artists and philosophers […]
Last week was nice and quiet. Well, nice and quiet if you ignore President Trump's advisor Roger Stone being arrested and indicted, Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort being ordered to appear in court to face charges of lying to federal authorities, and everything going on in Venezuela. Oh, and Facebook making money off of kids […]
You know that feeling. TFW you're in the market for a new phone, and you can't decide which one to buy. For the past month, if you're an Apple fan, chances are you've been feeling that feel a bit more than usual. This year, like every year, Apple released new phones—the iPhones 8 and 8 […]
First off, a not-fun stat for you to ponder: According to a new study released last week, more than 80 percent of the accounts that purposefully spread misinformation during the 2016 election are still active. At the same time, even Star Wars: The Last Jedi is being attacked by trolls with political agendas, because there's […]
When Alexander Fleming came back from a Scottish vacation in the summer of 1928 to find his London lab bench contaminated with a mold called Penicillium notatum, he kicked off a new age of scientific sovereignty over nature. Since then, the antibiotics he discovered and the many more he inspired have saved millions of lives […]