Since the time our ancient human relatives began using stone tools to perform tasks, humans have harnessed scientific knowledge and new technologies to advance our ability to feed ourselves, increase our health, expand the boundaries of our knowledge, and much more. From artificial intelligence and quantum computing, to optimizing the human body in pursuit of a long and healthy life, and much more—learn about these topics and more with our smart-but-digestible overviews and expert-curated resources.
Hours of research by our editors, distilled into minutes of clarity.
Columbia University’s Critical Materials Monitor identifies 56 elements required for the clean energy transition. The tool provides details on the reserves, production, and trade of each element, alongside what materials are needed for each technology (desktop only).
CRISPR is a revolutionary gene-editing technology already making a real-world impact in helping to treat several diseases and conditions. This simulation provides a microscopic view to help easily visualize the complex science.
The “petites Curies” allowed medical professionals to identify the severity of wounds without transporting soldiers to medical facilities, expediting treatment and saving lives. The efforts of Curie and other women led to expansions in their rights after the war.
The En-ROADS tool lets you role-play as a global decision maker to explore the long-term effects of various policy ideas on climate. More than 341,000 people worldwide, including over 130 members of Congress, have used the simulation.
This massive interactive project includes over 2 million species known to humanity and you can see how every creature is related. Try different tree modes or search your favorite species.
These hypothetical distortions in the fabric of spacetime may connect vast distances across or even between universes. While science fiction often portrays them as traversable tunnels, the energy and matter required to keep a wormhole open defy current physical understanding.
The sheer enormity of the universe escapes our ability to conceive of its scale, despite the best efforts of human imagination. This interactive provides an intuitive sense of how small we are, from a single astronaut to the Milky Way and beyond.
Transformer architecture is the neural network framework upon which large language models predict and generate text based on user inputs. This interactive lets you explore the "thinking" a GPT does to generate responses based on your input.
The asteroid that struck Earth 66 million years ago killed some avian dinosaurs. The smaller species endured by reproducing more quickly and adapting to the environment. Their different beaks allowed them to eat more varied foods for survival.
The movement of an object across latitudes causes it to take a curved trajectory because its speed no longer matches that of the ground beneath it. This phenomenon, called the Coriolis effect, explains why hurricanes spin counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.
