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Robo Reborn

The Atlas Robot Is Dead. Long Live the Atlas Robot

Before the dear old model could even power down, Boston Dynamics unleashed a stronger new Atlas robot that can move in ways us puny humans never can.
Weather

No, Dubai’s Floods Weren’t Caused by Cloud Seeding

WIRED Q&A

US Infrastructure Is Broken. Here’s an $830 Million Plan to Fix It

Health

Bird Flu Is Spreading in Alarming New Ways

H5N1 has infected cattle across the US and jumped from a mammal to a human for the first time. Experts fear it may someday evolve to spread among humans.

This Woman Will Decide Which Babies Are Born

Noor Siddiqui founded Orchid so people could “have healthy babies.” Now she’s using the company’s gene technology on herself—and talking about it for the first time.

‘In 24 Hours, You’ll Have Your Pills’: American Women Are Traveling to Mexico for Abortions

Since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, more women have been crossing the border to Mexico for abortion medications and procedures.

Screen Time for Kids Is Fine! Unless It's Not

Two new books offer radically different approaches to how people should think about smartphones and social media.

Space

Space Force Is Planning a Military Exercise in Orbit

Two satellites will engage in a “realistic threat response scenario” when Victus Haze gets underway.

Elon Musk’s Latest Mars Pitch Has Potential

SpaceX has made significant progress toward what once seemed an unattainable goal.

The Best Total Solar Eclipse Photos

Whether you’re in the path of the totality or keeping track from afar, these are the best total solar eclipse photos we’ve found.

How Will the Solar Eclipse Affect Animals? NASA Needs Your Help to Find Out

NASA’s Eclipse Soundscapes project will collect observations and soundscapes recorded by the public during the April 8 total solar eclipse.

Environment

Mexico City’s Metro System Is Sinking Fast. Yours Could Be Next

Subsidence is causing parts of Mexico City to sink, and it’s happening at an uneven rate. That’s bad news for its sprawling public transportation system.

The Honeybees Versus the Murder Hornets

Under threat from murder hornets, climate change, and habitat loss, UK honeybees are getting help from AI-enabled apiculturists tracking everything from foraging patterns to foreign invaders.

Why the East Coast Earthquake Covered So Much Ground

Friday morning's earthquake was felt from New York City all the way to Washington, DC. Blame ancient fault lines and bedrock for the jolt.

The Earth Will Feast on Dead Cicadas

Two cicada broods, XIX and XIII, are emerging in sync for the first time in 221 years. Birds, trees, and dirt are about to get the banquet of a lifetime.

Climate

The Paradox That's Supercharging Climate Change

Humanity needs to burn less fossil fuels. But that means fewer aerosols to help cool the planet—and a potential acceleration of global warming.

Toronto Wants to Manage Storms and Floods—With a Rain Tax

Outcry reached such a crescendo last week that the city canceled public hearings on the tax, which is intended to help offset the hundreds of millions spent managing stormwater and basement flooding.

Europe Rules That Insufficient Climate Change Action Is a Human Rights Violation

In a landmark ruling, the European Court of Human Rights found that Switzerland had not done enough to protect its citizens from climate change—blowing open the door for further cases against governments.

Searching for 'Forever Chemicals' From an Endless Landfill Fire

Alabama residents are considering blood or urine tests to see if “forever chemicals” have resulted from a nearby landfill fire that has burned since 2022.

Energy

It Takes Guts, Not College, to Fix Wind Turbines for a Living

Want one of the fastest-growing jobs in the US? Get used to being high.

One Couple's Quest to Ditch Natural Gas

Two climate journalists decided to decarbonize their home. Here's what happened.

The Next Heat Pump Frontier? NYC Apartment Windows

New heat pumps easily fit over window sills, meaning they could replace clunky apartment air-conditioning units.

The Feds Are Trying to Get Plants to Mine Metal Through Their Roots

Some species can absorb extreme amounts of nickel from soils. Such “phytomining” could help provide batteries essential for the renewable revolution.

Physics and Math

The Quest to Map the Inside of the Proton

Long-anticipated experiments that use light to mimic gravity are revealing the distribution of energies, forces, and pressures inside a subatomic particle for the first time.

Can You Really Run on Top of a Train, Like in the Movies?

To pull off this classic Hollywood stunt, you gotta know your physics!

A Popular Alien-Hunting Technique Is Increasingly in Doubt

Recent controversies bode ill for the effort to detect life on other planets by analyzing the gases in their atmospheres.

Can You View a Round Solar Eclipse Through a Square Hole?

Here’s a cool way to watch the eclipse on Monday—and learn about the weird physics of light while you’re at it.

Biotech

They Experimented on Themselves in Secret. What They Discovered Helped Win a War

The untold, top-secret story of the British researchers who found the key to keeping humans alive underwater—and helped make D-Day a success.

The Next Frontier for Brain Implants Is Artificial Vision

Elon Musk’s Neuralink and others are developing devices that could provide blind people with a crude sense of sight.

He Got a Pig Kidney Transplant. Now Doctors Need to Keep It Working

Researchers think a combination of genetic edits and an experimental immunosuppressive drug could make the first pig kidney transplant a long-term success.

This Bag of Cells Could Grow New Livers Inside of People

Donor livers are in short supply for transplants. A startup is attempting to grow new ones in people instead.

Robots

Meet the Next Generation of Doctors—and Their Surgical Robots

Don't worry, your next surgeon will definitely be a human. But just as medical students are training to use a scalpel, they're also training to use robots designed to make surgeries easier.

AI Is Building Highly Effective Antibodies That Humans Can’t Even Imagine

Robots, computers, and algorithms are hunting for potential new therapies in ways humans can’t—by processing huge volumes of data and building previously unimagined molecules.

This Artificial Muscle Moves Stuff on Its Own

Actuators inspired by cucumber plants could make robots move more naturally in response to their environments, or be used for devices in inhospitable places.

Get Ready for 3D-Printed Organs and a Knife That ‘Smells’ Tumors

Hospitals are evolving at warp speed, and autonomous surgical robots are just the beginning.

Psychology and Neuroscience

Scientists Are Unlocking the Secrets of Your ‘Little Brain’

The cerebellum is responsible for far more than coordinating movement. New techniques reveal that it is, in fact, a hub of sensory and emotional processing in the brain.

Meet the Designer Behind Neuralink’s Surgical Robot

Afshin Mehin has helped design some of the most futuristic neurotech devices.

Are You Noise Sensitive? Here's How to Tell

Every person has a different idea of what makes noise “loud,” but there are some things we all can do to turn the volume down a little.

Why You Hear Voices in Your White Noise Machine

If you've ever heard music, voices, or other sounds while trying to sleep with a white noise machine running, you're not losing your mind. Here's what's going on.

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