This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on all things AI, follow Hayden Field. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here. How it started It all st…
After years in the shadows, UFOs are being studied seriously. Follow scientists as they try to unravel the mystery of the strangest objects in our skies.
Science Saru literally laid the lore-building blocks for its big kaiju mecha anime showdown.
Science Saru's adaptation of the manga's exorcism song led to the studio issuing a statement about its homage to X Japan.
New research from the Dog Aging Project found that average trainability scores declined after 2020, but ticked back up again in 2023.
Everybody (yeah) is talking about Backstreet Boys at the Sphere, so io9 talked to one of the show's major creative forces.
Nikon has just unveiled the ZR, its first official co-brand with RED, the cinema camera company it purchased in April of last year. The ZR takes what Nikon has already been doing well, with its heavily adaptable Z-mount, internal RAW video recording and popul…
An exciting discovery on Mars is being overshadowed by turmoil at NASA, with budget cuts threatening to destroy a scientific legacy that has been built over decades. Yesterday, the agency shared a finding, published in Nature, of potential biosignatures ident…
The exodus has set off alarms among staff at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: “My main concern is they will be replaced with puppets."
Academics once loved Twitter—but in the age of X they’ve abandoned it in droves.
In an interview about the new book he co-authored, Science Under Siege, Hotez talks about forces driving the anti-science movement, the risks it poses — and why he won't debate RFK Jr.
Dish parent company EchoStar is selling wireless spectrum licenses to SpaceX for around $17 billion, the companies announced on Monday. SpaceX says it will use the spectrum to create the “next generation” of Starlink’s cellular satellite service, which custom…
At an event in Las Vegas yesterday, Tesla revealed a new utility-scale battery configuration that it claims can significantly lower construction costs for utilities, along with faster installation. Its new “Megablock” is pre-engineered; more assembly done in …
Apple’s new iPhone Air contains more recycled titanium than any of its predecessors, the company announced at the Tuesday Keynote. It’s using 80 percent recycled titanium. The phone as a whole is made with 35 percent recycled material by weight, compared to 3…
President Donald Trump is moving US Space Command’s headquarters from Colorado to Alabama, he announced during a press conference on Tuesday. The change reverses former President Joe Biden’s 2023 decision to leave it in Colorado Springs, where its temporary h…
The Revolution Wind farm was already 80 percent complete before the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management sent it a letter Friday to “halt all ongoing activities” to address purported national security concerns and “interference” with other potential uses for …
FEMA has suspended at least 30 employees after they warned that spending limits, staffing cuts, and gaps in leadership hurt the agency’s ability to respond to disasters. The employees received emails notifying them that they’d been put on administrative leave…
Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Science Center has been renamed the Daniel G. and Carole L. Kamin Science Center following a historic $65 million donation from Daniel ...
Claims emerged that a company that he worked for helped him write questions to government in June.
Google has brought NBA star Stephen Curry on board to help shape the company’s hardware, features, and AI services. The long-term partnership was announced today at the Made by Google event, with Curry joining the company as a “performance advisor” for Google…
Energy Secretary Chris Wright has disbanded a controversial Climate Working Group (CWG), which wrote a report that scientists say was full of errors and misrepresented climate science.
More than 85 scientists say that a recent U.S. Department of Energy report is full of errors and misrepresents climate science.
It's the first Nation's Report Card since the Trump administration began making cuts to the U.S. Education Department. The scores reflect the state of student achievement in early 2024.
Researchers have spent ten years improving the massive detectors they use to catch shockwaves from colliding black holes, and now the science is precise enough to test one of Stephen Hawking's key ideas.
There’s enough lithium in one year of U.S. mine waste to power 10 million electric vehicles.
A report that health secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has promised will come out this month will look at the causes of autism. Many worry it will have claims unsupported by science.
The Supreme Court on Monday issued an order clearing the way for agents to resume aggressive immigration sweeps in LA. And, a new Nation's Report Card shows drops in science, math and reading scores.
Britain's space agency is set to be scrapped - a scientist fears the UK space sector could fall behind as a result
"We may need to do a health check because smart people can get involved with these AI."
Susan Monarez is reportedly being pushed out for not supporting RFK Jr.'s anti-vaccine agenda.
It is impossible to make a perpetual motion machine, you’ll waste your time if you try. It is possible to write a book of poetry that will sell 10 million copies. It is unlikely, it probably won’t happen, but it is possible. Science and innovation and creativ…
Parents, teachers, and experts have big opinions about the impacts of AI on young people and education. But what do the students themselves say?
A new pilot program will test air deliveries in Texas.
Yes, that seabird soaring above your head will poop on you—for very scientific, evolutionary reasons.
NISAR will scan nearly all of Earth's land and ice surface twice every 12 days.
After analyzing a dataset of more than 60 million recorded birdsongs, researchers found that birds are singing an average of 50 minutes longer per day.
The nations of the world have been on the precipice of reaching a global agreement to curb plastic pollution for a few years now. Delegates from 184 governments met in Geneva this month to try to hammer out a final treaty, but in the end, they walked away wit…
Dr. Roman Yampolskiy, a professor of computer science and leading voice in AI safety, says the technology will take over 99% of jobs in the next five years.
Federal officials have agreed to restore health- and science-related webpages and data under to a lawsuit settlement with doctors groups and other...
The modern hacker and maker has an incredible array of tools at their disposal — even a modestly appointed workbench these days would have seemed like science-fiction a couple decades …read more
This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on deep-sea mining and critical minerals, follow Justine Calma. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here.…
The April 1926 issue of “Science and Invention” had a fascinating graphic. It explained, for the curious, how a photo of a rescue at sea could be in the New York papers almost immediate…
The traditional knock is that light roast espresso is bitter and sour. But new techniques mean that just plain isn’t true anymore.
Play this crossword inspired by the September 2025 issue of Scientific American
Our anniversary celebration begins with an outstanding collection of stories about times that science itself has made a full about-face
Katrina was the costliest natural disaster ever recorded in the United States. How has hurricane forecasting changed since it struck?
The ever elusive first lady has emerged with a brief to exert thought leadership over AI, for the children. Some insiders are excited; others won't touch the subject with a 10-foot pole.
WIRED spoke to Lee Pace on the eve of the season finale of “Foundation” about clone consciousness, robot gods, and what’s next for the newly renewed show.
This year’s WIRED Health summit in Boston featured Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel, CNN chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta, and a day’s worth of insights and provocative conversations.
As US labor and inflation data seemingly worsen, the White House refrain is “no panicans”—in other words, no room for panic. That isn't keeping everyone in Trumpworld from getting the jitters.
In a paper published today in Science, we introduce Deep Loop Shaping, a novel AI method that will unlock next-generation gravitational-wave science. Deep Loop Shaping reduces noise and improves...
The U.S. is drifting away from science and climate reality. So why does life seem so normal?
During a press conference today, NASA presented findings from the initial analysis of a Martian geological sample, touting it as possibly "the clearest sign of life that we have ever found on Mars."
Once complete, ITER will run fusion experiments using five times as much plasma as the largest reactors in operation today.
The National Science Foundation will stop operating the Nathaniel B. Palmer icebreaker and slash polar science funding by 70 percent, devastating Antarctic research
Move fast and get permission to break stuff.
The proof-of-concept material could one day be used to make more sustainable buildings.
The newly coined "doubling-back aversion" highlights another reason why people stubbornly refuse to change tack, researchers say.
Creating a human fetus in a robot is a bioethical minefield.
It's no huge surprise that Nvidia, a Chinese corporation and currently the world's biggest company, would take aim at laws that might potentially restrict the competitiveness of foreign technology.
High school students, especially 12th graders, are reading and learning math and science at historic lows, according to a new report.
Some of the states with the highest share of high-ranking public school are Illinois, New York, New Jersey, and Arizona.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Phys.org: In a first-of-its-kind experiment, engineers at the University of Pennsylvania brought quantum networking out of the lab and onto commercial fiber-optic cables using the same Internet Protocol (IP) that power…
The US health secretary's plans could have a huge impact on health policy not just in the US, but across the globe.
We’re on a journey to advance and democratize artificial intelligence through open source and open science.
Science Saru cranked the dial to 11 teasing an anime brawl ripped straight out of a sci-fi fever dream.
"Smarter Staub" ist keine Science-Fiction mehr: Winzige Sensoren könnten in Zukunft unsere Umwelt unbemerkt überwachen.
I ran across this delightful account that explores and explains everyday scientific questions through maddeningly catchy songs. Li
Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder have unveiled an AI-powered system designed to expose predatory scientific journals—those that trick scientists into paying for publication without proper peer review. By analyzing journal websites for red fla…
In honor of SciAm’s 180th birthday, we’re spotlighting the biggest “wait, what?” moments in science history.
The Centers for Disease Control had several top officials depart recently, leading to calls for the health secretary's resignation.
The restoration of London's famous Elizabeth Tower is nominated for the prestigious Stirling Prize.
I'm not a fan of AI health and fitness features. Not only do they regurgitate Captain Obvious-level summaries of what you just did, but the "insights" are so generalized that a Google search is often more helpful. So it was with great skepticism that I walked…
Sargassum strikes again. The post Sea turtle hatchlings struggle through a smelly seaweed maze appeared first on Popular Science.
Researchers can now check off another mystery from a long list of kind-of-confirmed principles in science, this time in fundamental chemistry.
See how much Lowe's pays in 2025, with software developers earning as much as $234,000. Salary data shows pay ranges across tech and data teams.
Lyft software engineers can make as much as $300,000 in base pay, according to work visa data. Explore salary ranges for other tech roles.
See how much Verizon pays in 2025, with some software developers earning $222,000. Salary data shows pay ranges across tech and data teams.
From the outside, wildfire smoke may look like a drifting gray cloud. But for scientists, these plumes are dynamic, complex, and potentially dangerous.
A new study presents an innovative approach to CO2 removal that addresses two environmental crises at once.
The end goal is to create an "advanced fuel center" in Tennessee, which will recycle used nuclear fuel for a host of purposes.
In a phase I trial, SNT-6302 showed early signs of remodeling the skin within people's scar tissue.
A catalog of new findings shows that, while new, gravitational waves contribute enormously to science.
A recent study claims to have found new geochemical evidence of an Earth-altering comet impact at the end of the last ice age, but skeptics still aren't convinced.
A record-breakingly sharp image of a solar flare allowed astronomers to get a closer look into the Sun's mysterious coronal loops.
After a decade of construction, the gigantic JUNO detector has joined the race to uncover the many mysteries of the neutrino.
Researchers detected unusually tiny particles of carcinogenic hexavalent chromium that may be able to penetrate deeper inside the body.
sPHENIX is a next-generation particle detector that probes the mysterious, soupy form of the early universe.
Canada's first lunar rover will search for water at the Moon's south pole as part of an international effort to establish a sustainable human presence there.
However, the devs say Zhong Kui is still very early in development and have no idea when it will launch The post Black Myth: Wukong Sequel Already In Development And Here’s Our First Look appeared first on Kotaku.
Vibe coding, or coding with AI, is growing in popularity, but engineers say you have to actually know how to code to do it well.
"We had a big, I don't know, existential crisis among students a few years back," Jure Leskovec told Fortune, "when it kind of wasn't clear what our role is ...
Palantir cofounder Joe Lonsdale said the government's decision to take a stake in Intel is "cronyism in some form."
Kevin Wu, cofounder of Leaping AI, said consulting made him confident in business, but didn't fully prepare him to be a founder.
Spicomellus may have been the first ankylosaur to wield its signature club tail. The post Stubby dinosaur took spikey armor to the extreme appeared first on Popular Science.
We've always loved a food fest. The post Bronze Age feasts uncovered in ancient English trash heaps appeared first on Popular Science.
New evidence of farming discovered far outside the Fertile Crescent. The post An Uzbekistan cave holds an ancient agricultural secret appeared first on Popular Science.