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Thirty years ago, astronomer Carl Sagan convinced NASA to turn a passing space probe’s instruments on Earth to look for life — with results that still reverberate today.
Computational rules might describe the evolution of the cosmos better than the dynamical equations of physics — but only if they are given a quantum twist.
Thomas Young’s double-slit experiment originally served to prove that light is a wave — but later quantum versions have made for a much fuzzier picture.
The launch of NASA’s Artemis I mission aims to rekindle the spirit of Apollo a half century after the United States left the lunar surface. As ever, science is the least of the driving forces.
Image-making, research and visual technologies have shaped each other over the past century and a half, argues Geoffrey Belknap, marking Nature’s anniversary.
The Western public's misapprehension that genius in science is always male and caucasian is partly a legacy of Victorian politics, says Christine MacLeod.
Venture funding is declining quickly and is unlikely to bounce back. But less money means lower expectations — good news for smaller science start-ups, says John Browning.
Giovanni Bignami reflects on the people who persuaded him that we must send humans beyond Earth's orbit to inspire public and political support for science.
We must look for mental commonalities between humans and other animals to understand the minds of either, says Frans B. M. de Waal, rebutting a recent claim to the contrary.
As research increases in Arab countries, the media is stepping up to report on it. In the third of three essays, Nadia El-Awady says the local journalism has much room for improvement.
