Quantum entanglement: A simple explanation

Quantum entanglement is a bizarre, counterintuitive phenomenon that explains how two subatomic particles can be intimately linked to each other even if separated by billions of light-years of space. Despite their vast separation, a change induced in one will affect the other.  Related: How quantum entanglement works (infographic) In 1964, physicist John Bell posited that … Read more

Some Children Die Without Explanation. Genetics Is Finally Giving Us Answers

The sudden and unexpected death of a child is a tragedy made all the worse when there’s absolutely no explanation. Each year in the United States, hundreds of children die for undetermined reasons, usually in their sleep or while resting. Due to the way deaths are investigated and certified, it’s hard to say how often this … Read more

Wild New Paper Suggests Earth’s Tectonic Activity Has an Unseen Source

Earth is far from a solid mass of rock. The outer layer of our planet – known as the lithosphere – is made up of more than 20 tectonic plates; as these gargantuan slates glide about the face of the planet, we get the movement of continents, and interaction at the boundaries, not least of which is … Read more

More Than 10,000 Studies Debunk Outdated Biological ‘Explanation’ For Male Success

From world politics to top-ranking businesses, to the upper rungs of academia and even Nobel laureates, men outnumber women by a significant margin. One claim to such disparity has been attributed to biology. The idea there’s some kind of ‘superdiversity’ among male brains has been repeatedly cited in the scientific literature in recent decades; but according … Read more

Crowds Can Cause Bridges to Sway Unnervingly, And We May Finally Know Why

You may have experienced an unsettling amount of swaying and wobbling if you’ve been on a bridge with large numbers of pedestrians traveling over it at the same time. Now, we have a fascinating new explanation for what causes this worrying movement in the structure.   Until now, the thinking went as follows: people fall … Read more

Pluto’s bizarre polygons now have a science explanation

A composite image of Pluto created using data from NASA’s New Horizons mission. (Image credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute) Pluto is geologically alive. Bizarre geometric shapes first spotted on the dwarf planet’s surface in 2015 are indications that a process called sublimation is ongoing, a new study suggests. A fresh model … Read more