One Giant Step for a Chess-Playing Machine
The stunning success of AlphaZero, a deep-learning algorithm, heralds a new age of insight — one that, for humans, may not last long.
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Science
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Freshwater is getting saltier, threatening people and wildlife
Road de-icing, industrial activity and other culprits are pushing salt levels in rivers and streams to alarming levels.
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The Search for Alien Life Begins in Earth’s Oldest Desert
In the Martian landscape that is the Atacama desert, astrobiologists are learning how to recognize extraterrestrial organisms.
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Killer Tulips Hiding in Plain Sight
Thanks to the compounds used to protect precious flowers, antifungal resistance is here—and it could be just as dangerous to humans as antibiotic resistance.
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Is Science Stagnant? - The Atlantic
Despite vast increases in the time and money spent on research, progress is barely keeping pace with the past. What went wrong?
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The Pentagon is studying an insect army to defend crops. Critics fear a bioweapon.
"Insect Allies" exploits the latest in CRISPR gene editing to help imperiled crops, but critics fear such technology could evolve into a biological weapon.
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This major discovery upends long-held theories about the Maya civilization
Archaeologists have uncovered 61,480 structures in Guatemala -- a number the lead author in the study called "humbling."
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How Will Police Solve Murders on Mars?
Mars P.D. will have to deal with new blood-spatter patterns, different body decay rates, and space-suit sabotage—and they won’t be able to fire guns indoors.
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Maria Konnikova Shows Her Cards
The well-regarded science writer took up poker while researching a book. Now she’s on the professional circuit.
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Spiders Can Fly Hundreds of Miles Using Electricity
Scientists are finally starting to understand the centuries-old mystery of “ballooning.”
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The Electric Flight of Spiders
Scientists are finally starting to understand the centuries-old mystery of “ballooning.”
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Climate Change Can Be Stopped by Turning Air Into Gasoline
A Harvard professor says his company should be able to suck carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, at industrial scales, by 2021.
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Why Whales Got So Big
It’s often said that the ocean releases them from the constraints of life on land. It’s actually the opposite.
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A Twist in Our Sexual Encounters With Other Ancient Humans
A new study suggests that early humans mated with the mysterious Denisovans in two separate waves.
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Elephants Are Very Scared of Bees. That Could Save Their Lives.
Researchers have compared the reactions of elephants in Africa and Asia to bee swarms, in efforts at protecting the endangered animals from angered farmers or poachers.
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You May Already Be Immune to CRISPR
The human immune system can hinder the gene-editing tool, though there could be ways around it
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The Greatest Leap, Part 3: The triumph and near-tragedy of the first Moon landing
Across the cislunar blackness, we set sail for a landing that almost didn't happen.
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Shy Elk and Bold Birds Become Partners in the Wilderness
Magpies will eat ticks that drain the blood from elks, but a scientist found it takes the right mix of elk-magpie personality for the relationship to work.
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Insects Are In Serious Trouble
In western Germany, populations of flying insects have fallen by around 80 percent in the last three decades.
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Antikythera shipwreck yields bronze arm – and hints at spectacular haul of statues
Arm points to existence of at least seven statues from Greek shipwreck, already the source of most extensive and exciting ancient cargo ever found
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Cats are an extreme outlier among domestic animals
Massive study of ancient and modern cat genomes reveals an unusual history.
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Welcome to the Future Range of the Woolly Mammoth
In Arctic Siberia, Russian scientists are trying to stave off catastrophic climate change—by resurrecting an Ice Age biome complete with extinct creatures.
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