What’s the most complex structure in the known universe? Hint: You’re using it right now to answer to this question. While you keep brainstorming, let’s discuss your cerebral cortex. This …

By 2050, one of every four people on Earth will go hungry unless food production more than doubles. Science-based agriculture has proposed unconventional new tools—earthworms, bacteria, and even genes from sunny daffodils—to meet this towering challenge. But will such innovative ideas be enough?

“The infinite! No other question has ever moved so profoundly the spirit of man,” said David Hilbert, one of the most influential mathematicians of the 19th century. A subject extensively studied by philosophers, mathematicians, and more recently, physicists and cosmologists, infinity still stands as an enigma of the intellectual world.

Roboticist Chad Jenkins’s career started with the Atari 2600 video game, and after tinkering with other games, he began a new career creating robots that can sense, plan, and act …

Microbiologist Hazel Barton goes spelunking in sticky mud, camping underground, and rope climbing in a atrium—all to research cures for antibiotic-resistant diseases. Episode filmed live at the 2009 World Science …

The notion of a “tortured genius” or “mad scientist” may be more than a romantic aberration. Research shows that bipolar disorder and schizophrenia correlate with high creativity and intelligence, raising tantalizing questions: What role does environment play in the path to mental illness?