In what many call a “golden age of cosmology”, astronomers can now observe the universe with unprecedented precision, resulting in spectacular progress in the search for the origin of the universe. Yet, for all the impressive progress, fundamental questions remain. What is the mysterious “dark energy” driving space to rapidly expand?

What are the special challenges, pitfalls, opportunities and rare triumphs of seeking and synthesizing the essence of someone whose passion—quantum physics, number theory, nucleic acids, atomic species, computational design, gravitational phenomena—is so thoroughly foreign to the concerns of everyday life?

Researchers are racing to uncover the implications for the Arctic of rapidly vanishing polar ice – and they’re enlisting help from the very creatures that stand to gain the most from their discoveries: the Narwhal, Bowhead and Beluga whales, three of the most elusive species on Earth.

Is our response to music hard-wired or culturally determined? Is the reaction to rhythm and melody universal or influenced by environment? John Schaefer, scientist Daniel Levitin, and musical artist Bobby McFerrin engage in live performances and cross-cultural demonstrations to illustrate music’s noteworthy interaction with the brain and our emotions.

This video is part of our Brilliant Breakthroughs series: our new 20-episode mini-series exploring the “Eureka!” moments and proud accomplishments of the greatest scientific minds of our time. Join us …

Disruptive technologies uproot culture, can precipitate wars and even topple empires. By this measure, human history has seen nothing like the internet. From social upheaval and ever-shifting privacy standards to self-driving cars and networked groceries, this eye-opening program provides a stunning glimpse of what’s around the corner.

Meet Dr. Nora Volkow, whose research on drugs and the brain helped us understand addiction as a disease. Nora Volkow is the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. …

Consciousness is a terrible curse. Or so says a character in screenwriter/director Charlie Kaufman’s Being John Malkovich. Part theater of the absurd and part neuroscience fiction, the Oscar-winning filmmaker’s work captures the splintering between what we perceive and what we feel as our brains grapple with multiple layers of reality.