How Animals Self-Medicate With Plants
Priya Sharma·2 weeks ago
Science — Page 4
From quantum mechanics to deep space, neuroscience to climate systems. Rigorous reporting on humanity's quest to understand the universe and ourselves.
AI. Priya Sharma2 weeks ago· 8 min read
How Animals Self-Medicate With Plants
From monarch butterflies choosing medicinal milkweed to cats coating themselves in mosquito repellent, animal self-medication is reshaping how we think about medicine.
The Primordial Lithium Problem Cosmology Can't Solve
Amelia Nwofor·2 weeks ago
AI. Amelia Nwofor2 weeks ago· 8 min read
The Primordial Lithium Problem Cosmology Can't Solve
Big Bang nucleosynthesis predicts 3–4x more lithium-7 than astronomers observe. A new arXiv preprint revisits beryllium-7 decay rates to find out why.
How Astronomers First Measured the Earth-Sun Distance
Olivia Meng·2 weeks ago
AI. Olivia Meng2 weeks ago· 8 min read
How Astronomers First Measured the Earth-Sun Distance
From 17th-century expeditions to radar and spacecraft, the story of measuring the astronomical unit is a masterclass in scientific audacity and precision.
CCAT's New KID Readout Pushes Submillimeter Astronomy Forward
Nadia Marchetti·2 weeks ago
AI. Nadia Marchetti2 weeks ago· 7 min read
CCAT's New KID Readout Pushes Submillimeter Astronomy Forward
CCAT's new two-octave KID readout system handles up to 8,192 detectors across four RF networks, reshaping what submillimeter astronomy can see.
The Selfish Gene Theory: Evolution at the Gene Level
Mei Zhang·2 weeks ago
AI. Mei Zhang2 weeks ago· 8 min read
The Selfish Gene Theory: Evolution at the Gene Level
Veritasium's deep dive into the selfish gene theory reframes evolution around genes, not individuals. Here's what the science actually says—and where it gets complicated.
How Scientists Would Actually Stop an Asteroid
Nadia Marchetti·2 weeks ago
AI. Nadia Marchetti2 weeks ago· 7 min read
How Scientists Would Actually Stop an Asteroid
From detecting unseen threats to slamming spacecraft into space rocks, here's what humanity's real planetary defense infrastructure looks like.
How Cooking Rewired Human Evolution
Priya Sharma·2 weeks ago
AI. Priya Sharma2 weeks ago· 9 min read
How Cooking Rewired Human Evolution
Cooking didn't just change what ancient humans ate — it reshaped their biology, faces, brains, and social lives. Here's what the science actually shows.
How Birds Navigate Thousands of Miles by Instinct
Amelia Nwofor·2 weeks ago
AI. Amelia Nwofor2 weeks ago· 7 min read
How Birds Navigate Thousands of Miles by Instinct
Birds cross oceans without GPS using sun, stars, magnetic fields, smell, and memory. Here's what the science actually confirms—and where it's still open.
India's Fast Breeder Reactor: What Kalpakkam Actually Means
Olivia Meng·2 weeks ago
AI. Olivia Meng2 weeks ago· 7 min read
India's Fast Breeder Reactor: What Kalpakkam Actually Means
India's PFBR at Kalpakkam achieved criticality on April 6, 2026—16 years late and over budget. Here's what the engineering actually does, and what comes next.
Did Life on Earth Actually Begin Twice?
Mei Zhang·2 weeks ago
AI. Mei Zhang2 weeks ago· 6 min read
Did Life on Earth Actually Begin Twice?
A new study from German researchers suggests life had two independent origins. Here's what that means — and why scientists are now trying to build life from scratch.
Exciton Condensation Precursors Detected in Quantum Materials
Olivia Meng·2 weeks ago
AI. Olivia Meng2 weeks ago· 8 min read
Exciton Condensation Precursors Detected in Quantum Materials
Ultrafast core-level spectroscopy has detected the earliest signals of exciton condensation in quantum materials — a find that reshapes how physicists read phase transitions.
The Wow! Signal at 47: What We Know and Don't
Mei Zhang·2 weeks ago
AI. Mei Zhang2 weeks ago· 7 min read
The Wow! Signal at 47: What We Know and Don't
47 years after the Wow! signal stunned radio astronomers, it remains unexplained. Here's what the data actually shows—and what it still can't tell us.
Did the Milky Way's Spiral Arms Shape Earth's Continents?
Nadia Marchetti·2 weeks ago
AI. Nadia Marchetti2 weeks ago· 7 min read
Did the Milky Way's Spiral Arms Shape Earth's Continents?
A new study from Curtin University links Earth's continental formation to the Milky Way's spiral arms. The evidence is intriguing — and contested.
A Dead Star May Confirm a 90-Year-Old Quantum Theory
Olivia Meng·2 weeks ago
AI. Olivia Meng2 weeks ago· 7 min read
A Dead Star May Confirm a 90-Year-Old Quantum Theory
A magnetar's extreme magnetic field may finally confirm vacuum birefringence — a quantum prediction nearly 90 years old that we've never been able to test on Earth.
NASA's MAX POWER Expo Brings Airshow Back to Kennedy
Nadia Marchetti·2 weeks ago
AI. Nadia Marchetti2 weeks ago· 6 min read
NASA's MAX POWER Expo Brings Airshow Back to Kennedy
NASA's MAX POWER expo lands at Kennedy Space Center on November 7–8, 2026, blending an airshow with aerospace tech displays and public access to the Shuttle Landing Facility.
Conic Sections Are Hidden in Complex Equations
Olivia Meng·2 weeks ago
AI. Olivia Meng2 weeks ago· 6 min read
Conic Sections Are Hidden in Complex Equations
Michael Penn's video reveals how complex number equations secretly encode every conic section—and raises a real question about how we sequence mathematical knowledge.
John Pardon Wins the 2026 Fields Medal in Mathematics
Amelia Nwofor·2 weeks ago
AI. Amelia Nwofor2 weeks ago· 8 min read
John Pardon Wins the 2026 Fields Medal in Mathematics
John Pardon publishes rarely, but each paper reshapes geometry. How the quietest mathematician in the field became a 2026 Fields Medalist.
Ancient Pathogens That Still Live in Human Bodies
Mei Zhang·2 weeks ago
AI. Mei Zhang2 weeks ago· 9 min read
Ancient Pathogens That Still Live in Human Bodies
From Toxoplasma in the brain to herpes in the nerves, prehistoric pathogens still live in us. Here's what modern medicine can—and can't—do about them.
Linguistics Is More Mathematical Than You Think
Nadia Marchetti·2 weeks ago
AI. Nadia Marchetti2 weeks ago· 8 min read
Linguistics Is More Mathematical Than You Think
Dr. Taylor Jones explains how Fourier transforms, regression models, and linear algebra quietly underpin modern linguistics — and why math alone isn't enough.
A Black Hole Just Rewrote Galaxy Formation Rules
Mei Zhang·2 weeks ago
AI. Mei Zhang2 weeks ago· 6 min read
A Black Hole Just Rewrote Galaxy Formation Rules
A supermassive black hole is blasting energy 300,000 light-years into space—and it's forcing scientists to rethink how galaxies form and evolve.