Naomi Saphra thinks that most research into language models focuses too much on the finished product. She’s mining the ...

Two mathematicians have proved that a straightforward question — how hard is it to untie a knot? — has a complicated answer.

A collection of short dispatches from the field of climate microbiology conveys the contributions that single-celled life ...

These phenomena are erratic. They interact at every scale and manifest as weather, from clear sunny days to blustery ...

New reconstructions of 540 million years of climate history show the planet tumbling between icehouse and hothouse states, revealing how rare and vulnerable our temperate moment is.

A team of scientists has investigated how Earth’s twin became so inhospitable, and whether the same will happen to our planet ...

Earth’s radiation can send some molecules spinning or vibrating, which is what makes them greenhouse gases. This infographic explains how relatively few heat-trapping molecules can have a planetary ...

Katherine Bourzac is a science journalist based in San Francisco. Her coverage of microbiology, physics, chemistry and the ...

Over the past 60 years, scientists have largely succeeded in building a computer model of Earth to see what the future holds.

Building an accurate model of Earth’s climate requires a lot of data. Photography reveals the extreme efforts scientists have ...

A planetary perspective on the relationship between life and energy, and the emergence of a life form whose influence extends across the entire biosphere — presenting us with an awesome opportunity.