Feature
- Anthropology
How to invent a realistic language for fictional speakers
Linguists can mix, match or even break the rules of real-world languages to create interesting imaginary ones.
- Math
Math long resisted a digital disruption. AI is poised to change that
The painstaking process of formalization to verify proofs is starting to surge thanks to AI. That could radically change the way people do math.
- Life
Smithsonian secrets most likely to blow your mind
Millions of objects stashed at a site open only to select visitors tell the history of Earth's inhabitants.
- Microbes
How warming is shifting microbial worlds
Climate change is affecting microbes, and that has implications for all life on Earth.
- Animals
Wild monkeys invaded Florida. Should people protect them?
A colony of African vervets in Dania Beach raises big questions about how humans can and should manage nonnative species.
- Artificial Intelligence
Have we entered a new age of AI-enabled scientific discovery?
Some say we’ve entered a new age of AI-enabled scientific discovery. But human insight and creativity still can’t be automated.
- Physics
The only U.S. particle collider shuts down – so a new one may rise
The famed collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory has ended operations, but if all goes to plan, a new collider will rise from its ashes.
- Health & Medicine
Tear gas and pepper spray can have lasting health effects
The chemicals are widely used for crowd control, but their long-term health risks are poorly understood.
- Animals
Animals experience joy. Scientists want to measure it
Scientists have long focused on quantifying fear and other negative emotions in animals. Now they’re trying to measure positive feelings — and it’s a challenge.
- Life
There’s life beneath the snow, but it’s at risk of melting away
An array of animals and plants survive winter in the subnivium, nature’s igloo. But climate change is threatening this hidden seasonal ecosystem.
- Animals
Animal personalities can play a big role in saving species
From bold foxes to gregarious birds, animals’ personalities are increasingly being seen as crucial to conservation efforts.
- Computing
Computer science can help abuse and trafficking survivors regain safety
Nicola Dell, a computer scientist studying the role of technology in intimate partner violence, cofounded the Center to End Technology Abuse.
