Subscribe to our Newsletter

The problem with thinking you’re part Neanderthal

“The interpretation of genetic data is not straightforward,” Chikhi says. “We always have to make assumptions. Nobody takes data and magically comes up with a solution.”  Embracing the uncertainty  Most of the... Read more »

Why opinion on AI is so divided

This year’s report, which dropped today, is full of striking stats. A lot of the value comes from having numbers to back up gut feelings you might already have, such as the... Read more »

Want to understand the current state of AI? Check out these charts.

The US and China are nearly tied In a long, heated race with immense geopolitical stakes, the US and China are almost neck and neck on AI model performance, according to Arena,... Read more »

The Download: how humans make decisions, and Moderna’s “vaccine” word games

—Sarah Scoles This article is from the next issue of our print magazine, packed with stories all about nature. Subscribe now to read the full thing when it lands on Wednesday, April... Read more »

You have no choice in reading this article—maybe

That ability is special among scientists, says Chapman colleague Aaron Schurger, with whom Maoz co-directs the Laboratory for Understanding Consciousness, Intentions, and Decision-Making (LUCID, appropriately). “I really think that Uri is kind... Read more »

Job titles of the future: Wildlife first responder

The bear necessities Sarmento was studying mountain goats in Glacier National Park when he first started working with bears. To better understand how goats responded to the apex predator, he dressed up... Read more »

What’s in a name? Moderna’s “vaccine” vs. “therapy” dilemma

Mechanistically, it’s similar to the covid-19 vaccines. What’s different, of course, is that the patient is being immunized against a cancer, not a virus. And it looks like a possible breakthrough. This... Read more »

The Download: an exclusive Jeff VanderMeer story and AI models too scary to release

A spacecraft has crash-landed on a hostile planet. The only survivors are three members of the exploration team and the ship’s AI mind.   Little exists on the planet except deserts of... Read more »

Constellations

For each of us, those endless white plains with no real elevation, just the metal rope and the metal posts, had become a kind of repetition that hurt the brain, and the... Read more »

The Download: AstroTurf wars and exponential AI growth

I knew on some level that desalination—pulling salt out of seawater to produce fresh water—was an increasingly important technology, especially in water-stressed regions including the Middle East. But just how much some countries... Read more »