Politics
We Must Fight Restrictions on Voting Rights
National Voter Registration Day reminds us of the urgent need to protect electoral integrity
Opinion
Climate Change
To Teach Students about Climate Change, ‘Just the Facts’ Isn’t Enough
We also need to talk about emotions and discuss pathways to action
Consciousness
Death, Physics and Wishful Thinking
Fear of mortality might underlie physicists’ fondness for the anthropic principle, multiverses, superdeterminism and other shaky ideas
Extraterrestrial Life
How to Search for Life as We Don’t Know It
Much of astrobiology is focused on looking for organisms with chemistry similar to ours—but there could well be other kinds
Transportation
‘Self-Driving’ Cars Begin to Emerge from a Cloud of Hype
Developers try to overcome a multitude of technical challenges before vehicles drive on their own
Climate Change
Fungi Might Have Helped Drag the Planet Out of Its ‘Snowball Earth’ Phase
Nearly a billion years ago, the planet was almost wholly encased in thousands of feet of ice—and then, somehow, it emerged
Space Exploration
Don’t Count on Billionaires to Get Humanity into Space
Far from pioneering wide access to orbit, privately funded spaceflight is geared to perpetuate inequities in space and on Earth
Inequality
Why the Term ‘JEDI’ Is Problematic for Describing Programs That Promote Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
They’re meant to be heroes within the Star Wars universe, but the Jedi are inappropriate symbols for justice work
Privacy
How Facebook Hinders Misinformation Research
The platform strictly limits and controls data access, which stymies scientists
Cognition
The Educational Power—and the Limits—of Personalized Children’s Books
Reading materials individually tailored to young people can boost engagement and learning, but discerning what works is an ongoing challenge
