Science & Tech

7 Drugs that Changed the World
Only a small number of substances could be said to have fundamentally revolutionized medicine.
© James Stuart Griffith/Shutterstock.com
History of Artificial Intelligence
It has existed for less than a century but artificial intelligence has evolved rapidly, and keeps evolving.
© Fine Art Images—Heritage Images/age fotostock

Editor's Picks

How Much Water Should a Person Drink in a Day?
The popular recommendation to drink 8 cups of water every day isn’t as definitive as it may seem. The amount of water one should drink depends on a number of factors, including age, biological sex, and activity level. On average, women need to consume about 11 cups (2.7 liters) of water (the U.S.
epistemology
Epistemology, the philosophical study of the nature, origin, and limits of human knowledge. The term is derived from the Greek epistēmē (“knowledge”) and logos (“reason”), and accordingly the field is sometimes referred to as the theory of knowledge. Epistemology has a long history within Western
How Fast Is the Universe Expanding?
The rate at which the universe is expanding is called the Hubble constant, named after astronomer Edwin Hubble, who, with Milton Humason, showed convincingly that the velocity with which a galaxy was moving away from Earth was proportional to its distance. That is, velocity = Hubble constant ×
6 Amazing Facts About Gravitational Waves and LIGO
Nearly everything we know about the universe comes from electromagnetic radiation—that is, light. Astronomy began with visible light and then expanded to the rest of the electromagnetic spectrum. By using the spectrum, from the short wavelengths of gamma rays to the long wavelengths of radio waves,
nanotechnology
Nanotechnology, the manipulation and manufacture of materials and devices on the scale of atoms or small groups of atoms. The “nanoscale” is typically measured in nanometres, or billionths of a metre (nanos, the Greek word for “dwarf,” being the source of the prefix), and materials built at this
6 Questions About DNA Answered
Deoxyribonucleic acid, better known as DNA, is crucial to life on Earth. The questions and answers in this list are taken from the Top Questions sections of the articles on DNA, recombinant DNA, and chloroplast, where you can find more questions answered. list, DNA, deoxyribonucleic acid,
deepfake
Deepfake, synthetic media, including images, videos, and audio, generated by artificial intelligence (AI) technology that portray something that does not exist in reality or events that have never occurred. The term deepfake combines deep, taken from AI deep-learning technology (a type of machine
What Causes the Northern and Southern Lights?
The auroras—the aurora borealis (or northern lights) in the Northern Hemisphere, and the aurora australis (the southern lights) in the Southern Hemisphere—are brilliant natural spectacles that can be seen in the evening sky especially at higher latitudes. Unlike other phenomena of the night sky,

Spotlight: Mummification

A team of scientists recently recreated the face of Peru's most famous mummy, "Juanita," or the "Ice Maiden." The girl is thought to have been sacrificed when she was between the ages of 13 and 15 some 500 years ago. Mummified by centuries of ice and snow, the body was well-preserved and is just one example of how mummification can occur naturally.

Quizzes

Name That Magnified Object!
Can you figure out what these common items are when they're extremely magnified?
Guess the Body Part Quiz
Taking this quiz requires guts.
Name That Thing: Science
Do you know the difference between a protractor and a compass?
Guess the Animal Eyes Quiz
Can you tell these creatures just by looking at their peepers?

Videos

How volcanoes work, explained by a volcanologist
How volcanoes work, explained by a volcanologist
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Galleries

Featured Categories