The Brain’s Connections Shrink During Sleep
This mass downscaling stops neurons from becoming saturated—which may be one of the reasons why sleep exists at all.
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The Atlantic Why Every Year Feels Shorter Than the Last
We asked a time expert.
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Charlie Neibergall / AP Why Fake News Targeted Trump Supporters
Multiple studies suggest social conservatives are more attuned to threats—even when they are not real.
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Dru Bloomfield / Flickr Scientists Open Their Labs to Colleagues Stranded by Trump’s Immigration Ban
More than 380 people have signed a list volunteering their facilities to American-based researchers who are stuck outside the U.S.
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Andrew Weaver The Climate Scientist Who Became a Politician
Andrew Weaver abandoned a 26-year career in climatology to make a successful run for office in Canada.
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Michael Owen Baker / AP Who Abused Their Executive Power at Standing Rock?
Under the Obama administration, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said the project needed an environmental-impact review. Now, the Corps has reversed course.
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(Peter Frederick Rothermel / Library of Congress / ... The Simple Psychological Trick to Political Persuasion
Conservatives are more likely to support issues like immigration and Obamacare if the message is “morally reframed” to suit their values.
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Alexis Noel Why Frog Tongues Are So Sticky
They’re among the softest biological substances ever measured.
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Bernadette Szabo / Reuters The Threats to the World's Chocolate Forests
A taste for chocolate has spread around the globe, but its supply is in jeopardy.
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Amr Dalsh / Reuters The Moon May Be Covered With Oxygen Beamed From Earth
The gas travels alongside particles from the sun, and could offer clues to life’s origins.
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Patrick Fallon / Reuters Trump’s Immigration Ban Is Already Harming American Science
Iranian scientists have been a major boon to everything from Mars exploration to Ebola-fighting to advanced mathematics.
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Nick Adams / Reuters The Gentle Anarchy of the Park Ranger
“Rogue” National Park Service Twitter accounts play on park rangers' distinct place in American culture.
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NASA / Reuters How Fast Is the Universe Expanding?
Astronomers have added a new data point in their attempts to answer the cosmic question.
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Rich Pedroncelli / AP The Health Battle Behind America's Next Milk Trend
An ancient variety of milk might do wonders for digestion—or it could be a money grab.
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Greg Asner, Carnegie Institution for Science How a Scientist Mapped the Entire Peruvian Amazon by Plane
Next stop: space.
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Ted Warren / AP 6-Year-Old Girls Already Have Gendered Beliefs About Intelligence
They’re more likely to avoid games meant for “really, really smart” children.
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AP The Doomsday Clock’s Most Dire Warning Since the Cold War
“This is the closest to midnight the Doomsday Clock has ever been in the lifetime of almost everyone in this room.”
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Morteza Nikoubazl / Reuters Why Fractals Are So Soothing
Jackson Pollock’s paintings mirror nature’s patterns, like branching trees, snowflakes, waves—and the structure of the human eye.
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Lucas Jackson / Reuters / Stelios Varias How to Overcome Political Irrationality About Facts
Some Trump supporters are willing to lie about his inauguration attendance to preserve their ideological identities. A new study explains how curiosity can help resist reflexive partisanship.
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James Lauritz / Getty Does Corruption Happen Slowly, or All at Once?
People may find a "golden opportunity" too good to pass up.
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Chris Wattie / Reuters Looking Back at Canada's Political Fight Over Science
The country’s last prime minister prevented some scientists from talking to the media, while making cuts to research budgets.
