Knowable Magazine

Missing from the archaeological record, fiber innovations like string played a huge role in the daily lives of our ancestors. Researchers are working to weave together new insights from the traces they left behind.

The speech of people with schizophrenia sounds subtly different from their healthy counterparts. Can AI hear those differences better than human psychiatrists?

Autocracy wasn’t inevitable in early civilizations — many were more egalitarian. But when riches were there to monopolize, strongmen and inequalities emerged.

Assisted by AI, companies have more options than ever to track employees, minute by minute, keystroke by keystroke. Does this have the desired effect?

Scientists are investigating what the various sounds mean — and discovering that the creatures may be more like birds and mammals than once thought

It depends. Though water consumption by data centers pales in comparison to that of some other industries, it’s a problem in water-stressed regions. Water-saving cooling technologies could help.

Long after the lava stopped flowing, enormous eruptions altered Earth’s climate and societies all over the globe

AI and machine learning are kicking synthetic biology up to new levels of innovation. Researchers see huge potential for novel drugs and other chemicals; some also see risks.

The Aussie experiment comes amid a lack of clear evidence that the apps harm the majority of adolescents. It may take a dramatic research pivot to finally reveal what’s going on and how to fix it.

In a world filled with scams, being wary makes perfect sense. But health, trust and decision-making can suffer when the fear of getting conned goes too far.

Scientists are making progress understanding how a fiber-rich diet can help with chronic disease

Researchers are probing cocoa’s confections to better understand flavor, crystals and bloom

Conflicts with people are growing as expanded forest land and climate change push the creatures into human settlements. There are solutions to try.

From camouflage to timekeeping to wound healing, light-sensing proteins called opsins perform all kinds of jobs in nature beyond helping creatures to see

Ten years ago, a pioneering AI scientist predicted that computers would replace human experts as readers of medical images. It hasn’t exactly worked out that way.

Escalating use of tools like Gemini and ChatGPT saps more and more power. Experts offer some tips on how to consume less.

As more and more tasks are done by machines — especially now, with AI — people increasingly move from manual controller to supervisor. Designs must factor in human psychology or risk disastrous errors.

Mutualistic partnerships between species abound across nature — but it’s a tricky dance to make sure both parties keep pulling their weight

Millions of songbirds in Southeast Asia are trapped and smuggled each year for keeping as pets or entering in competitions. Scientists warn that it's fueling a crisis.

In an epidemic of online misinformation, experts look to artificial intelligence to help sort fact from fiction