Artificial Intelligence
ChatGPT Explains Why AIs like ChatGPT Should Be Regulated
We asked the text-generating AI ChatGPT to talk about its own flaws
Stories by Madhusree Mukerjee
Animals
See How a Parasite Travels from Tiny Crustacean to Fish to Bird
A tiny bug manipulates the behavior of its hosts to ensure its unlikely life cycle
Public Health
How the World’s First Dengue Vaccination Drive Ended in Disaster
Is a runaway immune reaction making a dengue vaccine dangerous?
Behavior
The American Killed by Asian Islanders Hoped to Save Their Souls
But the self-styled missionary failed to comprehend that isolation ensures the Sentinel Islander’s survival
Behavior
The Biggest Questions in Science
An editorially independent special report on research into fundamental scientific mysteries, produced with support from The Kavli Prize
Behavior
How Fake News Goes Viral—Here’s the Math
Models similar to those used to track disease show what happens when too much information hits social media networks
Energy
5 Years Later, the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster Site Continues to Spill Waste
The cleanup effort could take decades; meanwhile the amount of radioactive material the plant leaks grows
Environment
Crippled Fukushima Reactors Are Still a Danger, 5 Years after the Accident
Japan’s citizens, and scientists worldwide, do not have answers to basic health and environment questions
Environment
The Impending Dam Disaster in the Himalayas
Two of the most populous nations—China and India—are building hundreds of dams in a violently active geologic zone
Environment
Apocalypse Soon: Has Civilization Passed the Environmental Point of No Return?
Although there is an urban legend that the world will end this year based on a misinterpretation of the Mayan calendar, some researchers think a 40-year-old computer program that predicts a collapse of socioeconomic order and massive drop in human population in this century may be on target...
Health
The Most Powerful Scientist Ever: Winston Churchill's Personal Technocrat
A physicist ended up wielding a great deal of power during Churchill's political career, affecting policy on matters well outside the purview of science
Health
Poisoned Shipments: Are Strange, Illicit Sinkings Making the Mediterranean Toxic?
Accusations fly over criminal dumping and scuttling of cargo ships carrying industrial and radioactive waste
Environment
Conflicted Conservation: When Restoration Efforts Are Pitted against Human Rights
Saving Earth might mean trampling indigenous societies
Environment
Is a Popular Carbon-Offset Method Just a Lot of Hot Air?
A popular carbon-offset scheme may do little to cut emissions
The Sciences
Profile: Yoichiro Nambu in 1995
Strings and gluons--The seer, this year's physics Nobel laureate, saw them all
The Sciences
Perilous Pursuit
With missile defense, India turns the thumbscrews on unsettled Pakistan
The Sciences
The Prostitutes' Union
Among the poor and most vulnerable, Smarajit Jana has found a way to slash the incidence of HIV--by organizing sex workers as any other labor collective
Environment
The Scarred Earth
Tsunami-spawning quake leaves geophysical changes
The Sciences
Speaking for the Animals
A veterinarian analyzes the turf battles that have transformed the animal laboratory
The Sciences
A Transparent Enigma
Low-functioning autistics are not supposed to joke, write or creatively express a rich inner life. But then there's Tito Mukhopadhyay
