The Best Articles in Science
The most useful articles and videos in Science from around the web—beginners to advanced—curated by thought leaders and our community. We focus on timeless pieces and update the list whenever we discover new, must-read articles or videos—make sure to bookmark and revisit this page.
Top 5 Science Articles
At a glance: these are the articles that have been most read, shared, and saved in Science by Refind users.
Videos
Watch a video to get a quick overview.
Ethical dilemma: Whose life is more valuable?
Puzzle through a classic ethical dilemma and decide: how do we determine the value of a life, whether human or non-human?--To protect against a possible resu...
The Science of Slowing Down Aging
Aging is inevitable, but what if it wasn't? Let's take a look at the latest science and how it might be possible to slow our own aging. What's the difference...
Methane’s life, death, and secret second life
Everything you need to know about the extremely powerful greenhouse gas.For more information about our sources and the how we calculated our 100 molecules, c...
Jason W. Chin: A virus-resistant organism
What if we could use the power of DNA to create a sustainable, circular economy? In a talk about breakthrough science, synthetic biologist Jason W. Chin describes his team's work rewriting the genetic…
What is ...?
New to Science? These articles make an excellent introduction.
What Is a Neutrino? The Missing Key to Modern Physics Could Be a Ghost Particle
The enigmatic saga of one of astrophysics' most wanted particles.
What is Neural Network? How does it understand things?
One of our great scientists, Stephen Hawking, said that “The development of full Artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human...
What Is Entanglement and Why Is It Important?
Caltech scientists explain the strange phenomenon of quantum entanglement in everyday language.
How to ...?
How To Spot Bad Science
In a digital world that clamors for clicks, news is sensationalized, and “facts” change all the time, here’s how to discern what is trustworthy and what is hogwash.
«Science is not some big immovable mass. It is not infallible. It does not pretend to be able to explain everything or to know everything.»
How to Make the Universe Think for Us
Physicists are building neural networks out of vibrations, voltages and lasers, arguing that the future of computing lies in exploiting the universe’s complex physical behaviors.
How to break a theory
When a theory breaks, you learn how to build it better.
«ASK WEIRD QUESTIONS Einstein had a wild imagination. He asked himself questions like: What would he feel if he rode an elevator through outer space? What would he see if he chased a beam of light?»
How to Make Sense of Contradictory Science Papers
The science you can come across today can often appear to be full of contradictory claims. One study tells you red wine is good for…
«The peer-review process is, in fact, designed, not to detect fraud or data manipulation, but to select for what is noteworthy.»
How to see a memory
Every memory leaves its own imprint in the brain, and researchers are starting to work out what one looks like.
Trending
These links are currently making the rounds in Science on Refind.
Mobile Genes From the Mother Shape the Baby’s Microbiome
Tiny genetic sequences in a mother’s bacteria seem to hop into the infant’s bacteria, perhaps ensuring a healthy microbiome later in life.
Scientists, please don’t let your chatbots grow up to be co-authors
Five reasons why including ChatGPT in your list of authors is a bad idea
The End of Infinity
Growing up means often saying, "that's it?" ♾️
We will never be able to live on another planet. Here’s why
The scientific evidence is clear: the only celestial body that can support us is the one we evolved with. Here’s why
Scientists Have Reached a Key Milestone in Learning How to Reverse Aging
The finding involves mice, but represents an important milestone in understanding what causes cells to age
Short Articles
Short on time? Check out these useful short articles in Science—all under 10 minutes.
Scientists finally know why people get more colds and flu in winter
A new scientific finding has uncovered why we get more viral colds, flu and Covid in winter and during cold snaps.
What's the real reason you can't go faster than the speed of light?
The real reason that we cannot travel faster than light speed is far more interesting than the textbook answer.
«On the bright side, now that you know about spacetime, the next time your boss gets on your case for just sitting there, you can tell them that they are being unreasonable. You’re moving as fast as possible.»
Cumulative vs. Cyclical Knowledge
President James Garfield died because the best doctors in the country didn’t believe in germs, probing Garfield’s bullet wound after an assassination attempt with ungloved, unwashed fingers that…
«some truths have to be experienced firsthand to be understood.»
Researcher offers new explanation for consciousness
Consciousness is your awareness of yourself and the world around you. This awareness is subjective and unique to you.
«all our decisions and actions are actually made unconsciously, although we fool ourselves into believing that we consciously made them»
How fast is gravity, exactly?
Thanks to observations of gravitational waves recorded in 2017, we now know that gravity and light travel at the same speed.
Long Articles
These are some of the most-read long-form articles in Science.
The rise and fall of peer review
Why the greatest scientific experiment in history failed, and why that's a great thing
«This extremely bad system is worse than nothing because it fools people into thinking they’re safe when they’re not.»
What Causes Alzheimer’s? Scientists Are Rethinking the Answer.
After decades in the shadow of the reigning model for Alzheimer’s disease, alternative explanations are finally getting the attention they deserve.
The world has reached 8 billion people — but soon we'll hit a decline we'll never reverse
This week, the world's population ticks over a historic milestone. But in the next century, society will be reshaped dramatically — and soon we'll hit a decline we'll never reverse.
Why scientists can't give up the hunt for alien life
There will always be "wolf-criers" whose claims wither under scrutiny. But aliens are certainly out there, if science dares to find them.
New Human Metabolism Research Upends Conventional Wisdom about How We Burn Calories
Metabolism studies reveal surprising insights into how we burn calories—and how cooperative food production helped Homo sapiens flourish
Thought Leaders
We monitor hundreds of thought leaders, influencers, and newsletters in Science, including:

Richard Dawkins
UK biologist & writer. Richard Dawkins Foundation monthly donor: http://richarddawkins.net/donate. RTs don’t imply endorsement, nor exhaustive research of tweeter

Ben Goldacre
Prof of EBM @UniOxford, author, Bad Science, more. I run http://bennett.ox.ac.uk making tools+papers from data http://OpenSAFELY.org http://OpenPrescribing.net
National Geographic
Since its inception nearly 130 years ago, the core purpose of National Geographic has been to further the knowledge and awareness of our world.
WIRED
Where tomorrow is realized || Sign up for our newsletters: http://WIRED.com/newsletter
NASA
There's space for everybody. ✨
Publications
We monitor hundreds of publications, blogs, newsletters, and news sources in Science, including:
Quanta Magazine
Big ideas in science and math. Because you want to know more. Launched by @SimonsFdn. 2022 Pulitzer Prize in Explanatory Reporting. http://quantamagazine.org
Big Think
Learn from the world’s greatest thinkers. Join us on https://www.youtube.com/c/bigthink.
MIT Technology Review
Our in-depth reporting on innovation reveals and explains what’s really happening now to help you know what’s coming next. http://technologyreview.com/newsletters
Nautilus Magazine
Experience science, don't just read about it. Deep, undiluted, narrative storytelling brings science into the most important conversations we are having today.
Undark Magazine
Non-profit & editorially independent. Exploring science as a frequently wondrous, sometimes contentious, and occasionally troubling byproduct of human culture.
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