Science

We Know Almost Nothing About the Omicron Variant

Here’s everything we do.

NASA Is Practicing Asteroid Deflection. You Know, Just in Case.

A spacecraft is on its way to nudge a distant asteroid.

Let’s Talk About Brines. No, Not That Kind.

The solar system is full of brines, and they’re crucial to the search for extraterrestrial life.

It’s Not You, It’s Climate Change

Warming oceans could be driving albatrosses to divorce unnecessarily.

COVID Tests Weren’t Designed for This

Testing is so complicated because we’re asking it to do too much.

Maybe Don’t Blow Up Satellites in Space

Just look at the trouble the debris from Russia’s missile test already caused for the International Space Station.

The Seven Lawmakers Who Will Decide the Climate’s Fate

Negotiations in Washington, D.C., are far more important than those in Glasgow, Scotland.

No Bird Wants to Live in a Murder Nest

Some birds use a few well-placed feathers to fake their own death and scare off intruders.

Hedges Do Way More Than Block Your View

They also link ecosystems together, supporting thousands of species.

Climate Hype Might Be the Ticket to Decarbonization

Glasgow is a spectacle. That’s kind of the point.

The Uncomfortable Truths of American Spaceflight

NASA has pushed its next moon landing to 2025. But why is it trying to go at all?

The One Thanksgiving Necessity America Forgot to Stock

Your turkey won’t be the most expensive thing on the table anymore.

Nuclear Is Hot, for the Moment

The United States, Russia, and France now describe the once-neglected technology as a key part of their decarbonization plans.

Animals of the Future

Lizards’ feet are morphing, squid are shrinking, rats’ teeth are getting shorter. What’s in store for us?

How Easily Can Vaccinated People Spread COVID?

Vaccination is the best protection against infection. But when breakthroughs do occur, a very basic question still has an unsatisfying answer.

Parents Still Have a Thanksgiving Problem

A first COVID shot will give kids some protection, but none of them will be fully vaccinated until the beginning of December.

Killer Whales Are Too Similar for Their Own Good

The animals have been inbreeding for millennia, and it’s putting their future at risk.

Spiders Play All Sorts of Mind Games

Arachnids are proof that animals don't need big brains to be brilliant.

The Next Weird Way We’re Changing Cats

What if you could make your cat hypoallergenic with biotechnology?

Floating Wind Farms Are About to Transform the Oceans

One way or another, life just off the coast of California is about to change.