Is Chaos in 'Seeking a Friend for the End of the World' Realistic? By Natalie Wolchover A new film depicts the range of human reactions in the run-up to an Earth-shattering asteroid collision. Is Hollywood's version of events realistic?
New 'Sunken UFO' Images Unconvincing, Experts Say By Natalie Wolchover Swedish explorers are back with new claims about a mysterious flying saucer-shape object on the floor of the Baltic Sea. But what do experts say about this "sunken UFO"?
Your Body Harbors Pounds of Microbes, Study Reveals By Natalie Wolchover Congratulations! You weigh a few pounds less than you thought!
Who Is China's First Female Astronaut? By Natalie Wolchover On board China's upcoming mission will be the country's first female astronaut. Who is the Chinese Sally Ride, and how was she chosen?
Why Does Explaining to Others Helps Us Understand? By Natalie Wolchover We often fail to generate the right kind of explanation until someone forces us to. But what is a satisfactory explanation, exactly?
5 Huge Misconceptions about Aliens By Natalie Wolchover Astrobiologists have deduced a thing or two about what alien beings might be like. Their profile might not match your own.
7 Huge Misconceptions about Aliens By Natalie Wolchover Astrobiologists have deduced a thing or two about what alien beings might be like. Their profile might not match your own.
Want to Live Longer? Move to NYC By Natalie Wolchover New Yorkers' life expectancy has increased by 10 years in the past two decades, dramatically overtaking the national average.
Why Are There Gay Men? By Natalie Wolchover The genes that make men gay appear to make their mothers and aunts more reproductively successful.
Why Do We Say 'Hmm' When Thinking? By Natalie Wolchover Even the Neanderthals might have tossed around this easy-to-say word.
What If We Eradicated All Infectious Disease? By Natalie Wolchover There could be unforeseen consequences of a disease-free world.
'Peekaboo' Reveals Babies Understanding of Quantum Mechanics By Natalie Wolchover Quantum mechanics is notoriously perplexing. But there's one set of humans who innately understand how it works.
5 Incredible Baby Skills By Natalie Wolchover Newborn babies may seem like pathetic humans, but they've got a few amazing tricks up their sleeves.
Why Do We Have Personal Space? By Natalie Wolchover We all have a sense of personal space, but how and why do the invisible spheres surrounding us develop?
Why Did Humans Prevail? By Natalie Wolchover Some of our hominid relatives may have had tools, language and culture. Why did we thrive while they perished?
'Peekaboo' Reveals Babies Can Understand Quantum Mechanics By Natalie Wolchover Quantum mechanics is notoriously perplexing. But there's one set of humans who innately understand how it works.
How to Watch the Venus Transit with Binoculars By Natalie Wolchover You don't need any fancy equipment or filters to see the transit of Venus. Follow these five steps to turn a set of binoculars into a solar projector.
Spectacular Texas Thundercloud Caught on Video By Natalie Wolchover A huge supercell in West Texas was caught on camera.
Why Are Genius and Madness Connected? By Natalie Wolchover Creative people are far more likely to be mentally ill. But why?
Wu-Tang Clan Rapper Takes on Space in 'Dark Matter' Album By Natalie Wolchover The hip-hop artist GZA has an album in the works about the magnificence of the cosmos.
Does Radioactive Tuna Mean Fukushima Was Worse than Expected? By Natalie Wolchover Fish contaminated with Fukushima radiation have been caught in California. Do they imply that the impact of the nuclear accident was worse than we thought?
What Are Bath Salts? By Natalie Wolchover Drugs marketed as "bath salts" have caused a spate of horrific acts of violence in recent years. How do they drive people so insane?
What If the World Stopped Turning? By Natalie Wolchover If the world stopped spinning, a few scattered groups of hardy humans could survive.
Cram Session: Quantum Computing in 200 Words By Natalie Wolchover It could reduce complex computing times from years to seconds. Here's a quick run-down on how it works.