Xenolinguistics—the Study of Alien Languages—Helps to Reveal Why All Beings Communicate
Studying how extraterrestrials might communicate could help prepare for first contact and also hint at the point of language itself
Author
Sarah Scoles
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In the Search for Life beyond Earth, the Only Constant Is Hope
The search for extraterrestrial life has periodically been turned upside down
DARPA built an AI to fact-check enemy weapons claims
The SciFy program tests whether adversaries’ most outlandish scientific claims add up or fall apart
How Geocaching Became a Global GPS Treasure Hunt over 25 Years
These hobbyists use GPS coordinates to hunt for secret prizes around the world
What came before the big bang?
Physicists cannot access anything that existed before the start of time and space, but they have theories
Inside a bold plan to pulverize an Earth-bound asteroid
Scientists are designing techniques to smash up space rocks that could be headed our way
The Quiet Demise of Breakthrough Starshot, a Billionaire’s Interstellar Mission to Alpha Centauri
An abandoned plan to visit another star highlights the perils of billionaire-funded science
Plans to Destroy the International Space Station Preview a Bigger Orbital Junk Problem
A special spacecraft will guide the space station through Earth’s atmosphere, but what about other large pieces of space debris?
The Pentagon is backing nuclear waste recycling for long-lasting military power sources
A Rhode Island start-up is working to recycle spent nuclear fuel into long-lasting power systems for the military
Nuclear Weapon Strike Decisions Could Come Down to Human Suggestibility
Surveys show that how nuclear strike options are presented strongly influences the decision a president may make