Elements
How the Tiger Really Got His Stripes
People have wondered forever what determines the patterns that animals wear. We’re starting to figure it out.
The Elephantine Memories of Food-Caching Birds
Some animals can remember where they’ve buried hundreds of thousands of seeds. Why can’t we remember where we’ve put our eyeglasses?
The Quest to Build a Telescope on the Moon
If the FarView radio telescope is built, it would double as a demonstration of two unprecedented activities: mining and manufacturing in space.
The Veterinarians Preventing the Next Pandemic
Most new diseases have their origins in animals. So why aren’t we paying more attention to their health?
The Peculiar Delights of the Enormous Cicada Emergence
As loud as leaf blowers, as miraculous as math, the insects are set to overtake the landscape.
The Highest Tree House in the Amazon
In 2023, conservationists and carpenters converged on Peru to build luxury accommodations in the rain-forest canopy.
A Guide to the Total Solar Eclipse
Eclipses dazzled the ancient world. Now that we understand them better, they may be even more miraculous.
Black Holes Are Even Weirder Than You Imagined
It’s now thought that they could illuminate fundamental questions in physics, settle questions about Einstein’s theories, and even help explain the universe.
Thinking About A.I. with Stanisław Lem
The science-fiction writer didn’t live to see ChatGPT, but he foresaw so much of its promise and peril.