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The first world beyond Earth for human habitability should be the Moon, not Mars. This is why we should terraform our lunar neighbor first.
The plan — conquer China and push west to attack the Ottomans — was peak imperial hubris, as the Spanish themselves eventually realized.
Maybe — just don't expect a carbon copy.
Red dwarfs are the Universe's most common star type. Their flaring now makes potentially Earth-like worlds uninhabitable, but just you wait.
The whole isn't greater than the sum of its parts; that's a flaw in our thinking. Non-reductionism requires magic, not merely science.
Nearly 30 would be "nones" — an amorphous group that spans from zealous atheists to the vaguely spiritual.
Since the time of Galileo, Saturn's rings have remained an unexplained mystery. A new idea may have finally solved the longstanding puzzle.
A firsthand look at China’s material progress and clean-tech revolution -- and what could happen if we let an authoritarian state steer AI's future.
In revolutionary Russia, a group of forward-thinking philosophers offered an alternative to both futurism and communism.
About six million years ago, the Mediterranean was sealed off from the Atlantic, and over centuries it ran dry. One megaflood reversed that.
Across all wavelengths of light, the Sun is brighter than the Moon. Until we went to the highest energies and saw a gamma-ray surprise.
Explanations for the cosmic speed limit often conflate mass with inertia.
In this excerpt from "The Story of CO2," Peter Brennan explains how changes in the Earth's ecosystem led to fire, which in turn led our ancestors to become the "fire apes."
In this excerpt from "Tales of Militant Chemistry," Alice Lovejoy exposes how the need for uranium during WWII led the Allied governments to turn a blind eye to colonial exploitation.
Philosophers once prophesied that evolution would lead to minds far greater — and stranger — than our own.
The Japanese practice of "tsundoku" bestows joy and lasting benefits to those who make books an important part of their lives.
A next-generation collider is required for studying particle physics at the frontiers. Here's the fastest, cheapest way to get it done.
Amplifying the energy within a laser, over and over, won't get you an infinite amount of energy. There's a fundamental limit due to physics.
The investment advisor and host of the Talking Billions podcast explores childhood curiosity, building networks through kindness, and more.
“Climate analog mapping” finds the place that is currently as warm as your city might be in 60 years.
Even just by examining the Moon with the unaided eye, we can learn an incredible amount about the Moon, Earth, and more.
Some books are remembered for their lyrical prose or engaging stories. Others are remembered for simply being weird.
Before becoming America’s most infamous assassin, John Wilkes Booth was a magnetic actor who was beloved by audiences and courted by critics.
65 million years ago, a massive asteroid struck Earth. Not only did Jupiter not stop it, but it most likely caused the impact itself.
In "Human History on Drugs," Sam Kelly explores what the research can tell us about one of history’s most brilliant — and troubled — artists.
Looking at a dark, night sky has filled humans with a sense of awe and wonder since prehistoric times. But appearances can be deceiving.
Living longer is only half the equation. Here’s how to stay healthier for more of those years.
In this excerpt from "Agents of Change," Christina Hillsberg tells the story of Martha “Marti” Peterson, the first female case officer stationed in Soviet Moscow.
The tiniest galaxies of all are the most severely dominated by dark matter. Could black holes be the cause of the extra gravity instead?
As Beijing encroaches on the territory of the Himalayan kingdom, its ultimate aim is leverage over India.