science
Topics and developments in science and medicine, presented by Futurism.
Stitch: Saltwater Silence
Sara Foxgrove remembered the last normal moment of her childhood as something small and quiet. She sat on the back steps of her mother’s cabin 0n Popham Beach, peeling bark off a stick and pretending it was a wand, the kind that could call storms or open secret doors if she pointed it just right. The tide had pulled back far enough that the sandbar stretched toward Fox Island like a pale, exposed spine. Her mother, Mara, wasn’t home. Neither were her father or her brothers. They had left an hour earlier to drive into Bath for groceries and a part her father needed for the woodstove. They’d promised to be back before the tide turned. Sara had waved as the car disappeared down the dirt road, not knowing it was the last time she’d ever see them. The afternoon felt suspended, like the world was holding its breath. Even the gulls seemed quieter, circling lazily above the water as if waiting for something.
By Syl De'Vilabout a month ago in Futurism
Fifty Millilitres of Everything . Winner in Already Here Challenge. Top Story - September 2026.
I'm on deck, coveralls on, waiting for a sample of seawater to be lifted onto deck, where I will then draw seawater into a syringe until it hits the fifty mark. I then push that syringe's worth of seawater through a filter capsule about the size of a torch, screw the cap shut, scribble some things on the cap with a Sharpie, and drop it into a sample bag (posh name for a sandwich bag). That's it. That's the entire collection process to be able to answer the quite literal million dollar question of "what's down there," or to know exactly what species are present in a particular area of the ocean. Something that would have sounded like science fiction to me a few years ago is rapidly becoming the everyday norm.
By Bradley Knight about a month ago in Futurism
Stop Calling Me Edna!
Every day, we leave our mark on every place we go. Skin cells and hairs that fall off of us regularly, waste products that enter our sewage system, and even saliva on half-eaten food will all hold a handful of human cells that bear our unique genetic signature. Thanks to the power of environmental DNA collection, or eDNA, we now know how to collect and read many new clues that have been left behind.
By Penny Fullerabout a month ago in Futurism
The Truth About Data Centers
Every time we send a message, stream a movie, ask an AI assistant a question, upload a photo, or buy something online, there is a good chance a data center is involved. Yet these enormous facilities are mostly invisible to us. They sit behind the scenes, quietly processing, storing, and moving the information that powers modern life.
By AnthonyBTV2 months ago in Futurism
