An Outdated Grid Has Created a Solar Power Economic Divide
Utilities have upgraded the infrastructure for rooftop power in richer neighborhoods, but low-income areas don't have the same capacity....
How to Watch the SpaceX Inspiration4 Launch
The first all-civilian, all-private mission to orbit prepares to blast off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center....
SpaceX’s All-Civilian Inspiration4 Crew Readies for Launch
Sure, an orbital flight without professional astronauts is unorthodox—but it just might work....
Why It’s So Hard to Predict Where the Pandemic Is Headed Next
Human behavior has changed along with the virus and public health measures to contain it. For modelers, it’s a curveball....
‘Neurograins’ Could be the Next Brain-Computer Interfaces
Dozens of microchips scattered over the cortical surface might allow researchers to listen in on thousands of neurons at the…
How a Duck Learned to Say ‘You Bloody Fool’
Voice analysis of a 34-year-old recording proves that Ripper the musk duck “independently evolved” to mimic his human caretakers....
How Computationally Complex Is a Single Neuron?
Scientists taught an artificial neural network to imitate a biological neuron. The result offers a new way to think about…
How Do Retroreflectors Give You Super Vision at Night?
The tiny optical devices turn up in lane markers, road signs, bike gear and even on the moon, helping us…
A Flawed, Strange Covid-19 Origin Theory Is Gaining Traction
A spate of studies claim that the disease was circulating in Italy long before the pandemic—but they struggle to support…
A Third of Shark and Ray Species May Face Extinction
Overfishing, habitat loss, and climate change are driving species collectively known as chondrichthyan fishes toward a global crisis....