Futurology

A person turning on a kitchen faucet, causing water to splash dramatically into a clear glass below.

Desalination could avert one of the top 10 threats facing the world

Desalination — changing seawater into safe drinking water — could avert a crisis. Here’s how to make it less costly and labor-intensive.

Johnny Wood | World Economic Forum

A lineup of compostable algae-based water bottles in various stages of degradation on a reflective surface.

Sustainability

Toward truly compostable plastic

Materials scientists are cooking up environmentally friendly plastics from natural sources like silk, plant fibers and whole algae.

Boyce Upholt | Knowable Magazine

Green fig fruit with water droplets hanging on a branch with leaves, exhibiting plant hardiness.

Climate Crisis

Your garden’s 2024 “hardiness zone” could change, thanks to warming climates

Hotter summers and warmer winters are changing the types of plants we’ll be able to successfully grow. Here’s how to adapt.

Matt Kasson

3D Printing

3D printing promises to transform architecture forever

Large-scale additive manufacturing, like 3D printing, involves building objects one layer at a time, transforming architecture as we know it.

James Rose

Engineering

Researchers turned superglue into a recyclable, cheap, oil-free plastic alternative

Researchers discovered a way to turn superglue into strong, clear plastic that can be made into many shapes.

Scott Phillips and Allison Christy

Genetics

A new look at the strange case of the first gene-edited babies

Did He Jiankui "Make People Better"? A new documentary leans toward a different narrative about gene-editing than we've heard before.

G. Owen Schaefer

Engineering

How do floating wind turbines work?

Several full-scale demonstration projects with floating wind turbines are already operating in Europe and Asia. How do they stay afloat?

Matthew Lackner

Sustainability

Pricing groundwater will help solve California’s water problems

The state’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act is a great opportunity — but only if it goes far enough.

Ellen Bruno | Knowable Magazine

Engineering

UK test-fires its first high-energy laser weapon

The UK has successfully test-fired the $115 million DragonFire, its first high-powered, long-range laser weapon.

Kristin Houser

Biology

What ever happened to the first cryogenically frozen humans?

For decades, people have arranged to freeze their bodies after death, dreaming of resurrection by advanced future medicine.

Tom Hartsfield

You can “see the future” with these smart contact lenses

Mojo Vision’s smart contact lens has finally made the leap to human testing, bringing the future of AR a major step closer.

Kristin Houser

Series| Future Explored

Hack your gut microbiome, live to 110

Watch

Does this group of Japanese 107-year-olds hold the key to stopping aging? Let's explore that, with host Tom Carroll.

Tom Carroll

History

Longtermism’s perspective on humanity’s past, present, and future

If we manage to avoid a large catastrophe, we can see ourselves as living at the early beginnings of human history.

Max Roser | Our World in Data

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