Technology

The Cost of Preventing Deaths by Climate-Driven Heat

A new formula measures the “mortality cost of carbon,” and how much would have to be removed from the atmosphere to save a single...

Extreme Heat Could Also Mean Power and Water Shortages

An extraordinary drought in the West, plus dry lakes and reservoirs, mean there will be less water for farms, hydroelectric energy,...

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Oh Good, Now There's an Outbreak of Wildfire Thunderclouds

Huge pyrocumulonimbus clouds just formed over fires in the West. Here’s why they could become more common on a warmer planet.

The Incredible Physics of Simone Biles' Yurchenko Double...

Calculating angular velocity and the moment of inertia isn’t quite as hard as competing in the Olympic gymnastics tournament—but it’s...

DNA Has Four Bases. Some Viruses Swap in a Fifth

Dozens of viruses don't use the same four nucleotide bases found in all other life. New work shows how this is possible—and perhaps...

Cities Aren't the Wildlife 'Deserts' Scientists Once Feared

As more animals are spotted in urban areas, researchers recognize how cities can play a significant role in fostering biodiversity.

The Pandemic Olympics, Vaccine Misinformation, and More...

Catch up on the most important updates from this week.

How Mockingbirds Compose Songs Just Like Beethoven

The birds aren’t producing sounds at random. Some of their strategies are surprisingly similar to ones used by humans.

The Olympics Could Be a Covid-19 ‘Super-Evolutionary Event’

In a warped version of international cooperation, the Games could provide a place for variants of the virus to spread and then return...

Scientists Just ‘Looked’ Inside Mars. Here’s What They...

InSight and Perseverance have sent back unprecedented data on everything from marsquakes to the Red Planet’s inner layers.