Nowadays, the tools for tracing your family tree have advanced far beyond looking back at names in the family Bible or compiling a scrapbook of paper records. Using your genetic information to find long-lost relatives is easier and cheaper than ever before—and scientists are looking to push the technology even further by analyzing our skin and facial features.

Computer scientist Jasmine Lawrence’s Cool Job is solving problems: She connects families thousands of miles apart through new Facebook technology, runs a blood donation network, and started her own personal …

Sexuality and gender play a profound role in shaping identity, but for much of human history how they are determined has remained obscure. How does sexual orientation develop? What is it? Can it be changed?

Not long ago, the idea of a computer beating a human at chess was the stuff of science fiction. But some of the most creative programmers of the 1980s and 90s were determined to make it a reality. And they did.

Einstein dreamed of a unified theory of nature’s laws. String theory has long promised to deliver it: a mathematically elegant description that some have called a “theory of everything.” Join …

We’ve discovered thousands of exoplanets, but what about exomoons? Astronomer David Kipping joins Brian Greene to explore the ongoing search for exomoons—lesser-known, but intriguing potential habitats for life beyond Earth. …