Technology
The Search for ET Has an X-Factor: the Evolution of Stars
To support life, a planet has to stay in its star’s “habitable zone.” But research on a nearby star shows that life-friendly zones...
A Staple of Sci-Fi Space Travel Will Likely Remain a Fantasy
Physicists say an interstellar engine popularized in the '60s is technically feasible, but it would take a more advanced civilization...
Earth’s Oceanography Helps Demystify Jupiter’s Flowing...
A team of scientists shows where some of the gas giant’s huge storms come from and how the process is similar to the buildup of extreme...
This AI Software Nearly Predicted Omicron’s Tricky Structure
New algorithms that decipher complex sequences of amino acids offered an early view of the coronavirus variant. They could point the...
Scientists Capture Airborne Animal DNA for the First Time
Researchers filtered the air around two zoos and identified genetic material from dozens of species, a technique that could help track...
Detailed Footage Finally Reveals What Triggers Lightning
The first detailed observations of lightning's emergence inside a cloud have exposed how electric fields grow strong enough to let...
Can Synthetic Palm Oil Help Save the World’s Tropical Forests?
Harvesting this vegetable oil is a huge driver of deforestation. Numerous startups are taking up the daunting task of engineering...
The Physics of the James Webb Space Telescope
Humanity has a new eye in the sky, with infrared sensors that will peer into the farthest reaches of the cosmos. Here’s how it works.
Astronomers Discover a Strange Galaxy Without Dark Matter
New, high-resolution observations of a faint, fluffy galaxy suggest that dark matter’s not as ubiquitous as scientists thought.
How Explosives, a Robot, and a Sled Expose a Doomsday Glacier
Thwaites Glacier is crumbling, and fast—if it melts entirely, it could add 10 feet to sea levels. Now Antarctic scientists are racing...
