Stories by Knowable Magazine

New technology is enabling neuroscientists to make increasingly detailed wiring diagrams that could yield new insights into brain function

Evolution in cities illuminates long-standing scientific questions and climate change futures

The complex interplay of tick ecology, land use and climate may be enabling the spread of the pathogens the arachnids carry

Excessive adversity activates biological reactions that can lead to lifelong problems in physical and mental well-being

Research is shedding light on why many water dwellers, from plankton to large fish, commute daily from the depths to the surface

Some researchers suspect these bacterial ancestors living within our cells may contribute to a wide range of neurological and psychiatric disorders

U.N. recognition would strengthen legal arguments for preserving nature

Filters in household faucets and genetic technology could help reduce this public health threat, biologist Rebecca Fry says

Antibiotics abound, but virus-fighting drugs are harder to come by. Fortunately, scientists are getting better at making and finding them

An experimental gene treatment aboard the International Space Station demonstrates how rodents—and humans—might stay buff beyond Earth

Scientists peer into those jars on the kitchen counter to find out what’s really happening

A decades-long dispute over how much carbon, nitrogen and oxygen lie within our closest star has implications for the entire universe

New therapeutics are testing whether protective bacteria can dampen harmful immune responses to food

Such data offer valuable information and could help track the novel coronavirus—but they risk errors and raise privacy concerns

New tests could verify the general theory of relativity, or find flaws

It comes in many types that each require specialized treatment, and scientists are learning to diagnose different varieties

Male competition and female preferences have driven arms races for the flashiest horns, antlers, pincers, tusks and claws

Here are five scientific applications that take the navigation system beyond the map

By engineering mutations into fruit flies, scientists reconstructed how the bright orange butterflies came to tolerate milkweed toxins

Neuroscience is closing in on states of mind the legal system cares about: memory, responsibility and mental maturity

The slimy stuff has a surprisingly wide array of beneficial biological functions

Our galaxy is far bigger, brighter and more massive than most others

There are many cheap and effective ways to provide safe water to the world’s poor regions. But projects often fail due to inadequate planning, maintenance or persuasive power

Evolution made insect ears many times over, resulting in a dazzling variety of forms found in spots all over the body