An artist's rendering of Lucy's species (Australopithecus afarensis).

“Lucy” at 50

Donald Johanson reflects on his fossil discovery that shook the human family tree a half century ago. Lucy’s discovery has been making ripples in the world of paleoanthropology for half …

The puzzle of Consciousness

What makes consciousness such a vexing problem for scientists and philosophers? While just about everyone agrees that the hard problem seems hard, many researchers — especially within the physicalist camp …

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory

An ambitious new telescope — equipped with the world’s largest digital camera — will scan the skies from a mountaintop in Chile, providing new insights into supernovae, asteroids, and more. …

A tribute to Daniel Dennett

Influential philosopher Daniel C. Dennett died earlier this year. Reading his works, one gets the impression of a mind jammed to the rafters with ideas. As Richard Dawkins put it …