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Potatoes Are the Perfect Vegetable—but You’re Eating Them Wrong

The humble potato is a miraculous vegetable, but Americans are eating less of them than ever before and have ditched fresh potatoes for frozen. Is it time to rebrand the spud?
Sport

How to Take the Perfect Soccer Penalty

Subprime

Banks Are Finally Realizing What Climate Change Will Do to Housing

Health

How to Avoid Getting Sick This Summer

A microbiologist explains how to not catch summertime germs at the barbecue, in the pool, or on the trail.

With So Much Bird Flu Around, Are Eggs, Chicken, and Milk Still Safe to Consume?

A food microbiologist explains why you shouldn’t worry about consuming poultry or dairy—so long as you take the right precautions.

The Case for MDMA’s Approval Is Riddled With Problems

The FDA is considering approving MDMA alongside psychotherapy as a treatment for PTSD. But evidence of the drug’s effectiveness isn’t clear cut.

Neuralink’s First User Is ‘Constantly Multitasking’ With His Brain Implant

Noland Arbaugh is the first to get Elon Musk’s brain device. The 30-year-old speaks to WIRED about what it’s like to use a computer with his mind—and gain a new sense of independence.

Space

Starship’s Successful Test Moves SpaceX One Step Closer to Mars

The vehicle mostly survived launch and reentry—key stepping stones toward operational flights of the largest rocket in history.

Boeing’s Starliner Has Finally Launched a NASA Crew Into Space

Seven years behind schedule, and after two scrubbed attempts last month, Starliner has at last sent two astronauts to space on a mission for NASA. The troubled company still has lots of catching up to do.

The Auroras Should Be Spectacular This Summer, Thanks to Solar Maximum

Increasing solar activity over the next year could bring more opportunities to see fantastic displays of the northern lights.

A Warp Drive Breakthrough Inches a Tiny Bit Closer to Star Trek

Physicists have figured out how a warp drive could work—even if it's more useful for our understanding of gravity than interstellar travel.

Environment

The Titan Submersible Disaster Shocked the World. The Inside Story Is More Disturbing Than Anyone Imagined

A year after OceanGate’s sub imploded, thousands of exclusive leaked documents and interviews with ex-employees reveal how the company’s CEO cut corners, ignored warnings, and lied in his fatal quest to reach the Titanic.

The World’s Largest Fungus Collection May Unlock the Mysteries of Carbon Capture

Research is uncovering the key role that fungi play in getting soils to absorb carbon, and how humanity’s actions aboveground are wreaking havoc in the mysterious fungal world below.

Don’t Believe the Biggest Myth About Heat Pumps

Not only do heat pumps work fine in cold weather, they’re still more efficient than gas furnaces in such conditions.

How Big Dairy Took Over Your TikTok Feed—With Help From Uncle Sam

A vast constellation of celebrities, from Kelly Ripa to the McDonald’s mascot Grimace, have helped push dairy sales.

Climate

Greener Is Getting Going

We’ve reached a tipping point where we’ve got a cleaner alternative for most transport. Now we have to commit.

Instead of Mining the Deep Sea, Maybe People Should Just Fix Stuff

A new report contends that deep sea mining is not only an environmental risk, it’s also not going to help meet the world’s renewable energy needs.

Ukrainian Sailors Are Using Telegram to Avoid Being Tricked Into Smuggling Oil for Russia

Contract seafarers in Ukraine are turning to online whisper networks to keep themselves from being hired into Russia’s sanctions-busting shadow fleet.

The End of El Niño Might Make the Weather Even More Extreme

The shift from El Niño to La Niña will see temperatures drop, but when one weather system swings to the other, summers tend to be hotter than average—meaning 2024 could be even warmer and wilder than last year.

Energy

Fusion Sparks an Energy Revolution

After hitting a power-output milestone, fusion technology is ready to graduate from small-scale lab experiment to full-sized power plant.

Light-Based Chips Could Help Slake AI’s Ever-Growing Thirst for Energy

Optical neural networks, which use photons instead of electrons, have advantages over traditional systems. They also face major obstacles.

Ecuador Is Literally Powerless in the Face of Drought

Drought-stricken hydro dams have led to daily electricity cuts in Ecuador. As weather becomes less predictable due to climate change, experts say other countries need to take notice.

How Many Charging Stations Would We Need to Totally Replace Gas Stations?

The United States could fully transition to electric vehicles in about 20 years. When that happens, we’re going to need a lot of chargers.

Physics and Math

How Much Energy Would It Take to Pull Carbon Dioxide out of the Air?

A physicist runs the math on direct air capture and warns: This tech won't save us from climate catastrophe.

The Hunt for Ultralight Dark Matter

Perhaps dark matter is made of an entirely different kind of particle than the ones physicists have been searching for. New experiments are springing up to look for these ultra-lightweight phantoms.

Does String Theory Actually Describe the World? AI May Be Able to Tell

Using machine learning, string theorists are finally showing how microscopic configurations of extra dimensions translate into sets of elementary particles—though not yet those of our universe.

What’s Up With These Crazy Northern Lights?

Solar winds at a million miles an hour and freaky magnetic turbulence are sparking some of the best light shows in centuries.

Biotech

Woman Who Received Pig Kidney Transplant Has It Removed

Surgeons at NYU took out the pig kidney because it wasn’t getting enough blood flow.

Gene-Edited Salad Greens Are Coming to US Stores This Fall

Biotech giant Bayer plans to distribute mustard greens that have been genetically altered to make them less bitter to grocery stores across the country.

WTF Is With the Pink Pineapples at the Grocery Store?!

Using DNA from tangerines and tobacco, food scientists have made a familiar fruit tastier—and more Instagrammable—than ever. We looked into it so you don’t have to.

There’s New Hope for an HIV Vaccine

A trial vaccine has succeeded in generating low levels of antibodies needed to target HIV. It’s a first but much-needed step toward preventing infection.

Robots

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.

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.

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.

Latest

Fires of Hell

Zombie Fire Season Is Here in the Arctic

Climate Emotions

Who Wants to Have Children in a Warming World?

Green Energy

US Offshore Wind Farms Are Being Strangled With Red Tape

environment

The Sea Is Swallowing This Mexican Town