Good morning. It's Tuesday, May 26, and welcome to this week's Science & Technology newsletter. First time reading? Sign up here or click here to share with friends. |
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Welcome to our one-year anniversary issue! Thank you to everyone who has read, listened to, watched, shared, or discussed anything that we've covered over the past 52 weeks. You all give meaning to the work we do, and it has been immeasurably rewarding to take you down the rabbit holes of discovery we've presented.
To celebrate, this issue is a little different from our usual setup. First, we're taking a look at science as a whole by examining scientific theories. The concept is among the most misunderstood by newcomers and experts alike, and it will be invaluable to understand it ahead of some big topics later this year, including quantum field theory and the theory of evolution.
Then, we'll focus on you—our readers—and share what you've written in as the best "can't miss" topics and "best of" resources from the past year. Finally, we'll wrap up with our usual "Science Spotlight" and "Best of the Week" blocks to catch up on the latest research news and fascinating findings from across the web.
We appreciate your feedback! Feel free to hit reply and send suggestions for future newsletter topics, interesting stories about what we covered, something we may have missed, or any questions you have that we didn't answer.
—Marco Daniel Machado, 1440 Science & Technology Section Editor |
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What makes something a scientific theory?
Scientific theories are explanations of natural phenomena supported by extensive evidence and repeated experimental scrutiny. In everyday language, "theory" is often used to mean a guess or a hunch, but these speculations are more closely aligned with the term "hypothesis." Instead, scientific theories are widely accepted frameworks for how the universe works because they account for existing observations and make predictions that have been rigorously tested.
Much of the confusion around scientific theories stems from the existence of scientific laws. These may seem absolute, proven, and something theories can become once sufficiently scrutinized. However, scientific laws describe what happens in nature, often via mathematical relationships, such as acceleration doubling when a force is doubled. On the other hand, scientific theories explain why events occur. Theories can never become laws, no matter how much evidence exists, but both complement one another (watch explainer).
Because they cannot be tested against every possible scenario, scientific theories can never be proved or become factual, though they can be disproved (watch explainer). New data can revise, overturn, or help fill missing gaps within a theory toward a more complete understanding of the universe. This self-correction is a hallmark, not a flaw, of science (learn more). However, this openness to revision has sometimes been misinterpreted as incompetence or politicized to erode confidence in science.
Learn even more by exploring our collection of Scientific Theories here.
Here's a sample of what we found ...
> The origin of Earth's protective magnetic field, according to dynamo theory. (Read)
> Before germ theory, people thought diseases came from "bad air." (Watch)
> Get comfortable with theories because laws may be a thing of the past. (Watch)
> String theory claims to be a theory of everything, but is it even a theory? (Watch) |
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Since the start of this newsletter, we've sent our readers deep dives into over 100 topics, which you can explore on our Science and Technology page. Collectively, these write-ups feature thousands of insightful articles, podcasts, videos, and more, which we continue to add to every day for our insatiably curious readers.
Speaking of our readers, here are previews of three of the most popular topics you told us newcomers should check out: |
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Quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics is the mathematical framework that describes how reality works at atomic and subatomic scales. It originated from the ultraviolet catastrophe, in which existing physics predicted that objects at any temperature should glow with infinite energy. To resolve this, scientists realized that the properties of matter, including energy, are quantized, meaning they can only exist in discrete values.
This quantization was seen in light, which was modeled as discrete particles—photons—or waves. By extension, this meant that all matter could behave as extended waves or localized particles—the wave-particle duality. Although this introduced "fuzziness" into experimental outcomes, the resulting mathematics has accurately predicted numerous phenomena and enabled most modern technology.
Check out some of these amazing resources ...
> Quantum mechanics enables teleportation, but it may cost you your life. (Listen)
> In the quantum realm, past and future events can occur at the same time. (Read) |
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Dark energy
Dark energy is the placeholder name for the invisible mechanism that has caused the universe to expand at an accelerated rate for the past 5 billion years. This expansion causes otherwise stationary objects, such as galaxies, to move farther apart. Calculations of the prevalence of this repulsion reveal that approximately 70% of the universe is made of dark energy.
While Edwin Hubble observed galaxies moving away from Earth in 1929, scientists believed that gravity would slow the expansion by mutually attracting everything in the universe. Observations of exploding stars, "echoes" of vibrating matter in the early universe, and more later confirmed that the universe's expansion has instead been unexpectedly speeding up. As of 2026, no one knows what dark energy is.
Check out some of these amazing resources ...
> Dark energy causes 97% of observable galaxies to move faster than light. (Watch)
> If it kept getting stronger, dark energy could rip atoms apart. (Read) |
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Data centers
Data centers are locations that house computing infrastructure, including hardware for data storage and processing, and network equipment that connects these components. Serving as the physical backbone of the digital age, data centers provide round-the-clock support for cloud-based applications, online financial services, streaming platforms, and generative AI systems.
The first data centers were room-sized punch-card computers weighing dozens of tons. The miniaturization of technology, the adoption of the internet, and the need for scalable, high-availability solutions led to the creation of hyperscale data centers. These require substantial water, electricity, and critical minerals, which have driven up consumer utility bills and electronics costs, while raising environmental concerns.
Check out some of these amazing resources ...
> How do data centers keep cool, and why do they require so much water? (Watch)
> What would underwater data centers look like? (Read) |
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Like all great scientists, we love spending time researching the latest scientific breakthroughs, tech releases, engaging explainers, and the connections between science and society that are making headlines. Here's what we found this week.
> Urban landscapes change the severity of different storm types in distinct ways
Texas A&M University | Lesley Henton. A breakdown of over 40,000 warm‑season storms that passed over or near Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, and Houston between 1995 and 2017 suggests that cities can strengthen small‑scale thunderstorms and larger isolated storms relative to similar storms in rural areas. However, cities reduce rainfall intensity during cold fronts and hurricanes. (Read)
> Accelerating long-term sea level rise driven by more than melting glaciers
Eos | Kimberly MS Cartier. From 1960 to 2023, heat-driven expansion of seawater accounted for 43% of total sea level rise, followed by melting of mountain glaciers (27%), the Greenland Ice Sheet (15%), and the Antarctic Ice Sheet (12%). About 41% of the acceleration in sea level rise during the same time frame was driven by this expansion, followed by 21% from reduced land water storage. (Read)
> Pollution from coal-fired power plants is reducing solar power output
University of Oxford | Staff. By combining atmospheric data on air pollution with satellite data on solar photovoltaic installations worldwide, researchers found that aerosols—tiny particles suspended in air—led to a loss of 74.0 Terawatt-hours of electricity annually from 2017 to 2023. This is equivalent to nearly one-third of the average electricity gains from these systems. (Read | Learn about Solar Power)
> Earth is collecting evidence of stellar explosions as it moves through space
Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres | Staff. Iron-60, a radioactive isotope found in samples of Antarctic surface snow a few years ago, is forged inside massive stars and ejected during supernovas. The isotope originated in a cloud of gas through which Earth is passing, suggesting that geological archives may accumulate signs of supernova activity throughout their formation. (Read) |
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"Science is built of facts the way a house is built of bricks: but an accumulation of facts is no more science than a pile of bricks is a house." |
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