Trump Promised to ‘Drill, Baby, Drill.’ The New Rigs Are Nowhere to Be Found
With clean energy more cost-competitive than it once was, the White House’s oil-first strategy is faltering.
The First Widespread Cure for HIV Could Be in Children
Evidence is growing that some HIV-infected infants, if given antiretroviral drugs early in life, are able to suppress their viral loads to undetectable levels and then come off the medicine.
AC or DC: Which Is Better?
Your gadgets run on direct current, but the electricity in your home is alternating current. What’s up with that?
States Are Moving to Protect Access to Vaccines
As federal vaccine policy shifts under US health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., lawmakers are looking to give state-level public health officials authority to ignore federal recommendations.
The Grave Long-Term Effects of the Gaza Malnutrition Crisis
The WHO believes one in five children in Gaza are acutely malnourished, with the health effects potentially lasting for generations.
Measles Cases Are Soaring in Mexico
The disease has claimed the lives of 12 people in the country this year, with the virus continuing to spread rapidly.
Scientists Say New Government Climate Report Twists Their Work
A new Department of Energy report “fundamentally misrepresents” climate research and leaves out key context, multiple scientists cited in the report tell WIRED.
What Your Nighttime Breathing Says About Your Health
Once dismissed as just snoring, sleep apnea is now emerging as an early warning sign for serious conditions like Alzheimer’s, heart disease, and depression.
The Hyperflexible People Who May Help Unlock Better Sleep Apnea Treatments
Patients with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome are six times more at risk for the sleeping disorder. Now scientists are studying them in hopes of finding remedies beyond the CPAP machine.
The Pandemic Appears to Have Accelerated Brain Aging, Even in People Who Never Got Covid
Stress, isolation, and uncertainty appear to have caused the brain to age quicker for those who lived through the crisis.
Big Tech Asked for Looser Clean Water Act Permitting. Trump Wants to Give It to Them
New AI regulations suggested by the White House mirror changes to environmental permitting suggested by Meta and a lobbying group representing firms like Google and Amazon Web Services.
A Secretive US Space Plane Will Soon Test Quantum Navigation Technology
The space plane’s test flight will advance development of a new navigation technology based on electromagnetic wave interference.
This Star System Contains 5 Potentially Habitable Planets
Astronomers have discovered a new exoplanet that may be habitable 35 light-years from Earth. Named L 98-59 f, it joins four other worlds in the temperate zone of an intriguing planetary system.
A ‘Grand Unified Theory’ of Math Just Got a Little Bit Closer
By extending the scope of a key insight behind Fermat’s Last Theorem, four mathematicians have made great strides toward building a unifying theory of mathematics.
The Texas Floods Were a Preview of What’s to Come
Mounting evidence shows no US state is safe from the flooding that ravaged Texas’ Kerr Country.
Join Our Next Livestream: Inside Katie Drummond’s Viral Interview With Bryan Johnson
On July 31, WIRED’s global editorial director discusses the world of wellness—and beyond—with WIRED reporters.
The First Planned Migration of an Entire Country Is Underway
The Pacific island nation of Tuvalu could be submerged in 25 years due to rising sea levels, so a plan is being implemented to relocate its population to Australia.
The Very Real Case for Brain-Computer Implants
On this episode of Uncanny Valley, we dive into the heated race between two companies to build a commercial brain-computer interface.
The ICJ Rules That Failing to Combat Climate Change Could Violate International Law
In a landmark ruling, the International Court of Justice declared that failure to act on climate change can be an “internationally wrongful act”—meaning countries could face legal consequences for harming the planet.
An Inventor Is Injecting Bleach Into Cancerous Tumors—and Wants to Bring the Treatment to the US
A Chinese man with no medical training is injecting cancer patients with a toxic bleach solution; a full course of treatment runs $20,000. He’s now working to bring the unproven treatment to the US.
Florida Is Now a Haven for Unproven Stem-Cell Treatments
In a measure that flouts the FDA, Florida says doctors can give unapproved stem-cell therapies for wound care, pain management, or orthopedic purposes.
South Korea Plans to Build a Base on the Moon
The country’s newly formed space agency wants to establish a lunar base by 2045.
A Top NASA Official Is Among Thousands of Staff Leaving the Agency
Makenzie Lystrup’s departure from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center comes soon after the resignation of the director of JPL.
Newly Discovered ‘Infinity Galaxy’ Could Prove How Ancient Supermassive Black Holes Formed
This collision of two galaxies could demonstrate that theorized “direct collapse black holes” exist.
EPA Employees Still in the Dark as Agency Dismantles Scientific Research Office
As the EPA moves to shut down the Office of Research and Development, leadership is unable to answer questions as basic as when it will close and how many will lose their jobs.
The Next Thing You Smell Could Ruin Your Life
Millions of people suffer debilitating reactions in the presence of certain scents and chemicals. One scientist has been struggling for decades to understand why—as she battles the condition herself.
There’s Neuralink—and There’s the Mind-Reading Company That Might Surpass It
Unlike Elon Musk's brain-computer interface, Synchron's doesn't require open-skull surgery, and it has an OpenAI chatbot baked in.
Who Controls Your Health? Test Your Knowledge of the MAHA Movement
US health officials, from RFK Jr. on down, have made some wild claims. See if you can name the person responsible for these quotes and factoids.
A Head-to-Toe Breakdown of Social Media’s Billion-Dollar Remedies
Bad mood? Puffy face? Immune issues? Across TikTok and Instagram there are scores of influencers ready to sell you some products—without ever sending you to a doctor.
How Trump Killed Cancer Research
Attempting to eliminate funding for certain kinds of “woke” studies, the Trump administration erased hundreds of millions of dollars being used for cancer research.
Animals Are the Original Wellness Influencers
Long before TikTok and probiotics, animals were teaching each other tips on feeling better, from swallowing leaves to get rid of parasites to using icebergs for exfoliation.
The Hunt for a Fundamental Theory of Quantum Gravity
Black hole and Big Bang singularities break our best theory of gravity. A trilogy of theorems hints that physicists must go to the ends of space and time to find a fix.
Why It’s Taking LA So Long to Rebuild After the Wildfires
Reforming California’s environmental rules is only a small step to rebuilding Los Angeles after the fires in January.
Einstein Showed That Time Is Relative. But … Why Is It?
The mind-bending concept of time dilation results from a seemingly harmless assumption—that the speed of light is the same for all observers.
Where Are All the AI Drugs?
In an industry where 90 percent of drug candidates fail before reaching the market, a handful of startups are betting everything on AI to beat the odds.
Can US Measles Outbreaks Be Stopped?
The US almost lost its measles elimination status once. Lessons from that episode suggest it will be more difficult to avoid doing so now.
Trump and the Energy Industry Are Eager to Power AI With Fossil Fuels
At a Pittsburgh summit, the Trump administration, energy executives, and tech barons joined as one to promote AI as the future of fossil fuels.
The Structure of Ice in Space Is Neither Order nor Chaos—It’s Both
Long thought to be completely disordered, space ice appears to have some crystallized regions, new research suggests.
For Algorithms, Memory Is a Far More Powerful Resource Than Time
One computer scientist’s “stunning” proof is the first progress in 50 years on one of the most famous questions in computer science.
Everything We Know About the Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS
A team of astronomers recently discovered the traveling space object, just the third of its kind to pass through our solar system.
How to Use Clean Energy Tax Credits Before They Disappear
There are just a few weeks left to tap federal programs that make purchasing an EV, heat pump, or solar panels more affordable.
How to Watch the Southern Delta Aquariids and Perseids Meteor Showers
In July and August two spectacular meteor showers will arrive in quick succession. Here’s everything you need to know to watch them and the other major showers that will appear in 2025.
A cloud seeding startup did not cause the Texas floods
Despite conspiracy theories, there's no way that cloud seeding operations days before the storm could have influenced the floods, scientists say.