The conversation started with a simple prompt: “hey I feel bored.” An AI chatbot answered: “why not try cleaning out your medicine cabinet? You might find expired medications that could make you feel ...

The skin could allow machines to dynamically blend into their surroundings or be used to create adaptive displays and artwork. An octopus’s adaptive camouflage has long inspired materials scientists ...

US nuclear capacity is forecast to rise 63 percent in the coming decades thanks largely to demand from data centers.

Waking up, hopping out of the bed, and stumbling to the kitchen for a cup of coffee: It’s an everyday routine most people don’t think twice about. But for children with spinal muscular atrophy, simply ...

Our immune system is a fierce brigade. Roaming immune cells scan for bacteria, viruses, and other invaders. They also communicate with tissues to catch early signs of cancer. After detecting a threat, ...

Andromeda and the Milky Way merge. NASA; ESA; Z. Levay and R. van der Marel, STScI; T. Hallas; and A. Mellinger Share Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d ...

Microglia are the silent guardians of the brain. They hunt down pathogens, clean up toxic protein clumps, and even shape the brain’s wiring. They’re also robust. Neurons can’t divide to generate new ...

Generative AI is biology’s new playground. The technology powering popular chatbots can also dream up new, entirely novel versions of life’s most basic molecules, from DNA to proteins. Once the domain ...

"According to a metric [METR] devised, the capabilities of key LLMs are doubling every seven months. This realization leads to a second conclusion, equally stunning: By 2030, the most advanced LLMs ...

The passage of time is inextricably tied to how humans perceive our own experiences. We confuse our perspective on reality with reality itself. “Time flies,” “time waits for no one,” “as time goes on” ...

How did life begin on Earth? While scientists have theories, they don’t yet fully understand the precise chemical steps that led to biology or when the first primitive life forms appeared. But what if ...