Category: 9. Sci-Tech

The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine.

Pose a question to a Magic 8 Ball, and it’ll answer yes, no, or something annoyingly indecisive. We think of it as a kid’s toy, but theoretical computer scientists employ a…

The human body is an amazing, curious, and disgusting thing. At any given moment, millions of tiny lifeforms are making their way across your body—both inside and out. And now, researchers say they’ve discovered an entirely new…

Forever chemicals continue to make headlines. A new study has now linked the handy but pesky chemicals known as PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances) to cancer diagnoses tied to communities with PFAS-contaminated drinking…

The optimal fuel route for Mars involves arriving when the two planets are roughly on opposite sides of the sun. This launch window repeats every 18 months, and the journey time of nine months means any problems onboard will need to be fixed by…

It also puts him on a collision course with people who worry that a switch to organic crops would make it much harder for the US to achieve its climate goals. Organic crops tend to produce less yield per acre, thus requiring larger areas of land…