Science And Creativity

Turning the Scottish Countryside into a Map of the Multiverse

A landscape artist transformed an old coal mine into a piece of cosmic art.

Turning the Scottish Countryside into a Map of the Multiverse

What Is the Multiverse (Or, How Can There Be Two Mr. Spocks)?

What Is the Multiverse (Or, How Can There Be Two Mr. Spocks)?

E.T. (Eight Tentacles)

E.T. (Eight Tentacles)

How to Catch a Spacetime Wave

How to Catch a Spacetime Wave

Canaries in the Coal Smoke

Canaries in the Coal Smoke

The Neuroscience of Jazz

Charles Limb examines what goes on inside the brain of a pianist — while he’s performing.

The Neuroscience of Jazz

Viruses at the Movies

Radiation used to be Hollywood’s go-to plot device. Now, viruses explain everything from vampires to the zombie apocalypse — but that’s not what really scares public health experts.

Viruses at the Movies

Does Your Zombie Have Rabies?

Some of our culture’s most enduring monsters transmit their contagion through biting — werewolves, zombies, and vampires. Could these myths actually be about rabies?

Does Your Zombie Have Rabies?

What Does Going Viral Mean?

Computer viruses and memes were born at the same time. But, for journalist Bill Wasik, it’s time to retire the metaphor of things “going viral” online.

What Does Going Viral Mean?

Reconstructing Viruses

Why do scientists want to recreate viral monsters like the 1918 Spanish flu? And if they do, should they be allowed to publish the instructions?

Reconstructing Viruses

Playing Against the Virus

When a pandemic spreads through “World of Warcraft,” epidemiologists study the game to learn real-world lessons.

Playing Against the Virus

The Flame Alphabet

In his novel “The Flame Alphabet,” Ben Marcus imagines what would happen if children’s speech made their parents sick.

The Flame Alphabet

Our Computers, Our Viruses, Our Selves

We’ve been living with computer viruses since the earliest networks. But how similar are they to biological ones?

Our Computers, Our Viruses, Our Selves

Dancing with the Scientists

The annual Dance Your PhD contest challenges doctoral candidates to take their research from the lab bench to the barre.

Dancing with the Scientists

Darwin’s Life in Verse

Charles Darwin’s great-great-granddaughter Ruth Padel writes poetry inspired by the life and contradictions of her famous ancestor.

Darwin’s Life in Verse