Cosmology and Exoplanets Win 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics
James Peebles, who helped found the field of cosmology, shares the prize with Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz, discoverers of the first exoplanet around another sunlike star
Stories by Clara Moskowitz
New Measurement Aims to Solve Neutrino Mystery
A new finding limits how much the bizarre particle can weigh, shedding light on a physics quandary
Mysterious Neutrinos Get New Mass Estimate
Cosmic calculations suggest how massive nature’s lightest matter particle could be
Come One, Come All: Building a Moon Village
Humanity first went to the moon to make a point. Now it’s time to overcome rivalries and pitch in together
One Small Step Back in Time
Half a century after Apollo 11, we remember how we achieved the impossible and why we need to do it again
What Happened to All of the Universe’s Antimatter?
Differences between matter and antimatter could help explain why the cosmos mostly lacks the latter today, researchers say
How to Be a Data-Driven Parent
Economist Emily Oster explains how to make the best decisions for your particular child, using the scientific evidence at hand
Fertile Ground: The Long-Neglected Science of Female Reproductive Health
When the discussion of reproductive health is dominated by the political will to control it, gaps in medical research get overshadowed
Israeli Spacecraft Fails to Make First Private Lunar Landing
Private organization SpaceIL’s Beresheet lander crashes down on the moon following engine and communications problems
Looking for Life on Mars: Viking Experiment Team Member Reflects on Divisive Findings
Patricia Straat looks back on the Viking lander experiment that aimed to find microbes
The “Fantastic” Feeling of a Breakthrough: Q&A with Math Prize Winner Karen Uhlenbeck
The first female winner of the prestigious Abel Prize shares details of life as a mathematician
Neutron Stars: Nature’s Weirdest Form of Matter
The insides of neutron stars—the densest form of matter in the universe—have long been a mystery, but it is one that scientists are starting to crack
Erupting Black Hole Shows Intriguing "Light Echoes"
A huge flare from a black hole helps reveal how matter and energy are expelled
Redefining the Kilogram
Officials will vote to overhaul the SI system of measurements, basing units such as the kilogram not on physical objects but on fundamental constants
Halting Sexual Harassment
A leader of a major report on sexual misconduct explains how to make science accessible to everyone
DNA-Coded “Lunar Library” Aims to Preserve Civilization for Millennia
Mission co-founder explains how backing up data on synthetic DNA can protect humanity’s knowledge
String Theory May Create Far Fewer Universes Than Thought
Some physicists claim that the popular landscape of universes in string theory may not exist
Evidence Builds for a New Kind of Neutrino
“Sterile neutrinos” that ignore all other particles might be showing up in experiments—and could even help solve the mystery of dark matter
Quantum Leaps: Read the Winning Entry in a Physics-Inspired Fiction Contest
The Quantum Shorts competition invited stories incorporating the laws of quantum mechanics
Breaking News! The World Isn’t Falling Apart: Why We Ignore Progress
Optimism may not be dead after all. Steven Pinker says our gloomy outlook for humanity is misplaced, and argues for faith in science, reason and democracy
