There is a parlor game physics students play: Who was the greater genius? Galileo or Kepler? (Galileo.) Maxwell or Bohr? (Maxwell, but it's closer than you might think.) Hawking or Heisenberg? (A ...

Could our universe be simulated? Physicists are saying that the answer is no. Scientists have discovered that it’s impossible to model the physics of our universe on even the biggest computer. What ...

An electrical engineer works on Form Energy's 2022 battery module in the company's lab in Berkeley, California. Image courtesy of Form Energy Share Weirton, West Virginia has iron in its blood. The ...

In recent years, air fryers have exploded in popularity thanks to their promise: You can make crispy, fried food with little to no oil. But what’s really happening inside those countertop machines?

Receive emails about upcoming NOVA programs and related content, as well as featured reporting about current events through a science lens. To find out, we imagined a souped-up spacecraft that could ...

Elephants die; we all do. In elephants and some others, it matters who has died. It’s why they are “who” animals. The crucial importance of memory, learning, and leadership in a family’s survival is ...

In a contest for the least contentious statement a person can make, “What goes up must come down” is surely a strong contender. Of the four known fundamental forces—gravity, the electromagnetic force, ...

Chris Mazurek was a freshman in college when he had a dream that he was inside the Legends of Zelda video game. He saw himself as the main protagonist, Link, in third person. Suddenly, beeping noises ...

A sequel to one of the most popular NOVAs of all time, "Miracle of Life," this Emmy Award-winning program tracks human development from embryo to newborn using the extraordinary microimagery of ...

To the nervous system, memories and chronic pain are strikingly similar. Can we use the same technique to erase them? ByEleanor Nelson Wednesday, August 13, 2014 NOVA NextNOVA Next Nerve cells, like ...

The planet looks blue from space, but new research shows that most of Earth's water may actually be deep underground. Share Earth is a jewel of the solar system, painted blue by the vast oceans that ...

What if the fundamental “stuff” of the universe isn’t matter or energy, but information? That’s the idea some theorists are pursuing as they search for ever-more elegant and concise descriptions of ...