Skip to main content

Science

Dot Physics

How to Run on the Moon

It’s hard to stay fit in low gravity. Here’s a simple solution, using Einsteinian physics and an old carnival stunt.

US Government Awards Moderna $176 Million for mRNA Bird Flu Vaccine

As fears of a pandemic mount, the biotech company’s mRNA vaccine trial is set to release Phase 1/2 results later this year, with a larger Phase 3 trial expected to begin in 2025.

The UK’s NHS Going Digital Would Be Equivalent to Hiring Thousands of New Doctors

More than 30 million Brits have the NHS app. This represents an opportunity to transform the health service, which shadow health secretary Wes Streeting calls “an analog system in a digital age.”

Sexist Myths Are a Danger to Health

To improve outcomes for female patients, all evidence needs to be considered—while outdated myths about the significance of sex differences need to be retired.

Not Everyone Loses Weight on Ozempic

For many patients, GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy lead to substantial weight loss. But some see much less benefit, and researchers are trying to figure out why.

A Chinese Space Startup Launched Its New Rocket by Accident

Space Pioneer blamed a “structural failure” for the unintended blastoff.

The US Wants to Integrate the Commercial Space Industry With Its Military to Prevent Cyber Attacks

As more and more infrastructure is deployed in space, the risk of cyber attacks increases. The US military wants to team up with the private sector to protect assets everyone relies on.

NASA Desperately Needs New Spacesuits. Private Firms Are Struggling to Make Them

Collins Aerospace is expected to back out of a contract with NASA, while high interest rates and a difficult supply chain environment have affected Axiom.

Pooping on the Moon Is a Messy Business

If humans are to return to the moon, space agencies and governments need to figure out the legal, ethical, and practical dimensions of extraterrestrial waste management.

Recluse Spider Season Is a Myth

The venom of recluse spiders can be dangerous, but the idea of there being a “season” when these arachnids invade homes and bite is unhelpful and wrong.

The Titan Submersible Disaster Shocked the World. The Inside Story Is More Disturbing Than Anyone Imagined

A year after OceanGate’s sub imploded, thousands of exclusive leaked documents and interviews with ex-employees reveal how the company’s CEO cut corners, ignored warnings, and lied in his fatal quest to reach the Titanic.

The World’s Largest Fungus Collection May Unlock the Mysteries of Carbon Capture

Research is uncovering the key role that fungi play in getting soils to absorb carbon, and how humanity’s actions aboveground are wreaking havoc in the mysterious fungal world below.

Don’t Believe the Biggest Myth About Heat Pumps

Not only do heat pumps work fine in cold weather, they’re still more efficient than gas furnaces in such conditions.

Hurricane Beryl Isn’t a Freak Storm—It’s the Exact Nightmare Meteorologists Predicted

A hot ocean provides the energy hurricanes need to grow—and can limit the cooling that happens in their wake, making it likelier that the storms that follow will be powerful ones.

I Will Save You From the Heat

The people of Phoenix will fry this summer. The city has workers for that.

How to Exercise Safely During a Heat Wave

An expert in heat-related illnesses outlines the dos and don'ts for when you're exercising or working outside this summer.

Everything’s About to Get a Hell of a Lot More Expensive Due to Climate Change

Intensifying hurricanes, floods, and heat waves are wreaking havoc across the country—and on all of our bank accounts.

Britain’s Brewing Battle Over Data Centers

The Labour Party, which is leading in UK election polls, has proposed making it easier for companies to build new server farms—risking a new type of conflict in communities across the country.

The Hunt for the Most Efficient Heat Pump in the World

A new generation of engineers has realized they can push heat pumps to the limit, but just how much heat you can extract depends on your setup.

Extreme Hail Storms Are Wrecking Solar Farms—but Defending Them May Be Easier Than It Seems

Climate change is making hail storms more intense, so designers have to find novel solutions to protect panels from expensive damage.

Fusion Sparks an Energy Revolution

After hitting a power-output milestone, fusion technology is ready to graduate from small-scale lab experiment to full-sized power plant.

Cryptographers Are Discovering New Rules for Quantum Encryption

Researchers have proved that secure quantum encryption is possible in a world without hard problems, establishing a new foundation for what is needed to keep information secure.

If Betelgeuse Explodes, Just How Bright Will It Get?

This supergiant star is in our celestial neighborhood, and it’s threatening to go supernova. What would that look like from down here?

What Came Before the Big Bang?

By studying the geometry of model space-times, researchers offer alternative views of the universe’s first moments.

How Much Energy Would It Take to Pull Carbon Dioxide out of the Air?

A physicist runs the math on direct air capture and warns: This tech won't save us from climate catastrophe.

Woman Who Received Pig Kidney Transplant Has It Removed

Surgeons at NYU took out the pig kidney because it wasn’t getting enough blood flow.

Gene-Edited Salad Greens Are Coming to US Stores This Fall

Biotech giant Bayer plans to distribute mustard greens that have been genetically altered to make them less bitter to grocery stores across the country.

WTF Is With the Pink Pineapples at the Grocery Store?!

Using DNA from tangerines and tobacco, food scientists have made a familiar fruit tastier—and more Instagrammable—than ever. We looked into it so you don’t have to.

Neuralink’s First User Is ‘Constantly Multitasking’ With His Brain Implant

Noland Arbaugh is the first to get Elon Musk’s brain device. The 30-year-old speaks to WIRED about what it’s like to use a computer with his mind—and gain a new sense of independence.

The Atlas Robot Is Dead. Long Live the Atlas Robot

Before the dear old model could even power down, Boston Dynamics unleashed a stronger new Atlas robot that can move in ways us puny humans never can.

Meet the Next Generation of Doctors—and Their Surgical Robots

Don't worry, your next surgeon will definitely be a human. But just as medical students are training to use a scalpel, they're also training to use robots designed to make surgeries easier.

AI Is Building Highly Effective Antibodies That Humans Can’t Even Imagine

Robots, computers, and algorithms are hunting for potential new therapies in ways humans can’t—by processing huge volumes of data and building previously unimagined molecules.

This Artificial Muscle Moves Stuff on Its Own

Actuators inspired by cucumber plants could make robots move more naturally in response to their environments, or be used for devices in inhospitable places.

Scientists Are Unlocking the Secrets of Your ‘Little Brain’

The cerebellum is responsible for far more than coordinating movement. New techniques reveal that it is, in fact, a hub of sensory and emotional processing in the brain.

Meet the Designer Behind Neuralink’s Surgical Robot

Afshin Mehin has helped design some of the most futuristic neurotech devices.

Are You Noise Sensitive? Here's How to Tell

Every person has a different idea of what makes noise “loud,” but there are some things we all can do to turn the volume down a little.

Why You Hear Voices in Your White Noise Machine

If you've ever heard music, voices, or other sounds while trying to sleep with a white noise machine running, you're not losing your mind. Here's what's going on.

Latest