Archivo: The Atlantic
Spiders are much smarter than you think
Cognition researchers are discovering surprising capabilities among a group of itsy-bitsy arachnids
The Search for Intelligent Life Heads Underwater
Researchers are using AI to try to communicate with whales.
The Animal Kingdom Is Full of Genetic Screwballs
All sorts of creatures jettison parts of their own DNA, and scientists have no idea why.
Why Are Gamers So Much Better Than Scientists at Catching Fraud?
A pair of recent cheating scandals—one in the “speedrunning” community of gamers, and one in medical research—call attention to an alarming contrast.
If Aliens Are Out There, They’re Way Out There
Real evidence of extraterrestrial life will come from a distant corner of space, not UFOs in our sky.
Pay No Attention to That Cat Inside a Box
For all the hype that box-cats command, scientists still don’t fully understand why felines both big and small so fervidly flop their keisters into anything and everything. And because cats are generally uncooperative study subjects, humans have had a hell of a time trying to suss it all out. “We can’t get into those little brains,” Mikel Delgado, a cat-behavior expert at Feline Minds, a cat-behavior consulting group, told me.
A Tiny Ant Brain Is Still Too Big for Reproduction
Disturbingly light is the head that wears the crown.
Don’t Be Surprised When Vaccinated People Get Infected
Post-immunization cases, sometimes called “breakthroughs,” are very rare and very expected.
We Now Can See a Virus Mutate Like Never Before
Tracking the coronavirus’s evolution, letter by letter, is revolutionizing pandemic science.
The Arctic Has a Cloud Problem
Tiny iodine particles are clumping together to trap sunlight and melt polar sea ice.