The Race to Understand Antarctica’s Most Terrifying Glacier
The Thwaites Glacier is crumbling into the sea. Now scientists must answer two questions: When will it take the plunge? And can our coastal cities be saved?
SpaceX Is Launching a Piece of Trevor Paglen’s Art Into Orbit
Artist Trevor Paglen has built a balloon satellite intended to evoke awe and wonder back on Earth.
The Genius Neuroscientist Who Might Hold the Key to True AI
Karl Friston’s free energy principle might be the most all-encompassing idea since Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection. But to understand it, you need to peer inside the mind of Friston himself.
An Aging Marathoner Tries to Run Fast After 40
Nicholas Thompson had been running marathons for years. At 42, he set out to reverse his slowing speeds with, science, tech, and new dedication.
Meet Jim Allison, the Carousing Texan Who Just Won a Nobel Prize For His Cancer Immunotherapy Breakthrough
Jim Allison is an iconoclastic scientist who toiled in obscurity for years. Then he helped crack a mystery that may save millions of lives: Why doesn’t the immune system attack cancer?
Addressing Mental Health Effects, a Year After the Tubbs Fire in Sonoma
As the anniversary of the massive wildfires in Northern California arrives, researchers are trying to pinpoint the best ways to treat the anxiety, depression, and PTSD left in the disaster’s wake.
How Ants Turn Into Zombies
Allow us to explain the gruesome process by which ordinary ants become the pawns of an insidious and spectacularly clever fungus.
Inside the All-Female Trek to the North Pole
A dozen women brave polar bears and frostbite to walk, ski, and trudge to the top of the world. It’s a bonding exercise, yes, but also a unique chance to study the female body in extremis.
Inside the All-Female Trek to the North Pole
A dozen women brave polar bears and frostbite to walk, ski, and trudge to the top of the world. It’s a bonding exercise, yes, but also a unique chance to study the female body in extremis.
What Happened in the Dark: Puerto Rico’s Fight for Power
More Americans rely on Puerto Rico's grid than on any other public electric utility. How one renegade plant worker led them through the shadows.