The Zoo Is Reopening After 239 Days. The Animals Have Missed You, Too.It was a sunny morning in Brooklyn, and a California sea lion swam up on the ledge of its pool and balanced there. It craned its neck, turning its head this way and that, squinting as three humans approached its tank. Could it be? Visitors?
Cosmic Megastructures: The Largest Objects in the UniverseThe discovery of giant superclusters of galaxies are challenging our very understanding of the Universe.
Toxic Gaslighting: How 3M Executives Convinced a Scientist the Forever Chemicals She Found in Human Blood Were SafeProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they’re published. This story is exempt from our Creative Commons license until July 19.
He Seeks Mystery Magnetic Fields With His Quantum CompassAlex Sushkov is updating an old technology with new quantum tricks in hopes of sensing the magnetic influence of dark matter. Introduction Atomic physicists “are jacks of all trades,” according to Alex Sushkov.
Meerkats Keep Dropping Dead From Heart FailureThe genomes of meerkats could help researchers solve some puzzles in human heart disease.
These Electric School Buses Are on Their Way to Save the GridThe big yellow school bus is a US icon, but perhaps not one that future Americans will remember fondly. Chugging through neighborhoods, idling in front of kids’ houses, the vehicles spew both noise and fossil-fuel pollution all across town.
The Feminist BotanistLydia Becker sat down at her desk in the British village of Altham, a view of fields unfurling outside of her window. Surrounded by her notes and papers, the 36-year-old carefully wrote a short letter to the most eminent and controversial scientist of the day, Charles Darwin.
The Waning Reign of the Wetland Architect We Barely Know (Hint: Not a Beaver)Little-appreciated, semiaquatic, and cute-as-hell, muskrats can survive almost anywhere. So where are they? This article is also available in audio format. Listen now, download, or subscribe to “Hakai Magazine Audio Edition” through your favorite podcast app.
Nato’s failure to save Ukraine raises an existential question: what on earth is it for?Nato’s grand 75th birthday celebration in Washington in July will ring hollow in Kyiv. The alliance has miserably failed its biggest post-cold war test – the battle for Ukraine. Sadly, there’s no denying it: Vladimir Putin is on a roll.
Scientists Discover a ‘Phonetic Alphabet’ Used by Sperm Whales, Moving One Step Closer to Decoding Their ChatterSperm whales are highly social creatures that roam the world’s oceans together, diving deep in search of giant squid, their favorite food.
One year with the Light Phone 2The first time I used the Light Phone 2’s GPS, I drove to Los Angeles for a date. I ended up parked in a red zone, hyperventilating to the rhythm of my hazard lights. All I did was get lost, and yet, I was seconds away from puking all over myself. (I didn’t, thank goodness.
These are the California cities where $150,000 still buys you a home. Would you live here?California’s soaring home values and its affordability crisis show no signs of easing. But if you look hard enough, there are still a handful of cities where the median price of a home is less than $150,000.
The Dark Universe: Why we're about to solve the biggest mystery in scienceTiny, fuzzy blobs. I’ve spent a lot of time in the last few years looking at images of tiny, fuzzy blobs. They’re only ever a few pixels wide, like smudges on a photo, but they could be the key that unlocks the mystery of dark matter.
Climate Policy Is WorkingClimate change is not just transforming the environment: it is also exacting a marked toll on mental health.
In the race for space metals, companies hope to cash inIn April 2023, a satellite the size of a microwave launched to space. Its goal: to get ready to mine asteroids. While the mission, courtesy of a company called AstroForge, ran into problems, it’s part of a new wave of would-be asteroid miners hoping to cash in on cosmic resources.