Tech

  1. an aerial photo showing a solar farm. There are rows and rows of solar panels grouped into squares as far as the image stretches. The sun is low in the sky.
    Tech

    50 years ago, the future of solar energy looked bright

    In the 1970s, scientists and engineers were coming around to the idea of “farming” the sun’s energy on a large scale.

    By Aina Abell
  2. woman checking her phone in a crowd
    Science & Society

    Social media crackdowns during the war in Ukraine make the internet less global

    Social media has become an important battleground, and now stands to split along geopolitical lines.

    By Erika Engelhaupt
  3. image of numbers written on a chalkboard
    Math

    How the way we’re taught to round numbers in school falls short

    A rounding technique taught in school doesn’t work well for machine learning or quantum computing, but an alternative approach does, researchers say.

    By Rachel Crowell
  4. historical photo of a 1920s radio broadcast station with men wearing headphones
    Science & Society

    What made the last century’s great innovations possible?

    Science paved the way for antibiotics, lasers, computers and COVID-19 vaccines, but science alone was not enough.

    By Jon Gertner
  5. image of a computer chip with red hues
    Computing

    Now that computers connect us all, for better and worse, what’s next?

    The digital revolution has brought chess-playing robots, self-driving cars, curated newsfeeds — and new ethical challenges.

    By Matthew Hutson
  6. A Navajo woman sitting at a microscope
    Computing

    Core memory weavers and Navajo women made the Apollo missions possible

    The stories of the women who assembled integrated circuits and wove core memory for the Apollo missions remain largely unknown.

    By Joy Lisi Rankin
  7. photo of a person looking at the "Edmond de Belamy" portrait
    Computing

    Artificial intelligence challenges what it means to be creative

    Computer programs can mimic famous artworks, but struggle with originality and lack self-awareness.

    By Richard Moss
  8. a photo of the demolioshed Arecibo Observatory
    Planetary Science

    50 years ago, Arecibo got an unprecedented view of Venus’ surface

    Over its 57-year lifetime, Arecibo’s radar system measured the mountains around Venus’ middle, studied the textures of many rocky bodies in outer space and more.

    By Maria Temming
  9. image of a city street scene
    Tech

    Materials of the last century shaped modern life, but at a price

    From our homes and cities to our electronics and clothing, the stuff of daily life is dramatically different from decades ago.

    By Carolyn Wilke
  10. photo of a man in a crowd wearing a mask on the back of his head
    Artificial Intelligence

    How AI can identify people even in anonymized datasets

    A neural network identified a majority of anonymous mobile phone service subscribers using details about their weekly social interactions.

    By Nikk Ogasa
  11. image of a variety of bird eggs
    Math

    An elusive equation describing bird eggs of all shapes has been found at last

    A new mathematical equation describes bird eggs of all shapes found in nature, and it could have applications in food and agricultural research.

    By Rachel Crowell
  12. black and white photo of a man in a cap with glasses leaning over a tabletop device while another man looks on
    Earth

    A WWII submarine-hunting device helped prove the theory of plate tectonics

    With a boost from World War II, the fluxgate magnetometer became a portable and invaluable tool.

    By Carolyn Gramling