‘The devastation of human life is in view’: what a burning world tells us about climate change

I was wilfully deluded until I began covering global warming, says David Wallace-Wells. But extreme heat could transform the planet by 2100

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How the decline of newspapers creates 'news deserts' around the country

Layoffs at established newspaper chains and digital upstarts alike reflect the difficulty of the news business. The closing of local newsrooms can create "news deserts," areas with limited access to news outlets. Judy Woodruff talks to Steve Cavendish, editor of the Nashville Banner, and Penny Abernathy, chair of journalism and digital media economics at the University of North Carolina.

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A bizarre interstellar object called 'Oumuamua continues to perplex astronomers a year after it vanished.

Here's why a few scientists still wonder if it was alien.

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Scientists find magic mushrooms could help fight fascism

Researchers found unlikely heroes in keeping the world from authoritarianism - magic mushrooms. Scientists from the Psychedelic Research Group at Imperial College London showed that psilocybin, the active compound in psychedelic mushrooms, makes people less likely to embrace authoritarian views like fascism and more connected with nature. The study, authored by Taylor Lyons and Robin L. Carhart-Harris, a leading researcher in this field, shows that psilocybin treatment can lead to lasting changes in such mindsets.

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One Time America Thought About Nuking the Moon, and a Few Times Humans Smashed Things Into It Anyway

The 1950s were a bizarre period in American history. An economic boom brought joy to a generation home from war, and also harbored a strange level of distrust, of enemies both internal and external, in a nation not quite at war, but not quite at peace either. Technology was advancing in leaps and bounds, and the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union was underway. To America’s dismay, the Soviets were winning – at least at first.

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Delete your account: leaving Facebook can make you happier, study finds

Despite all the scandals of the past year, here we are, still on Facebook, a couple of billion of us spending about an hour a day in its iron grip. Now a new study suggests it’s making us feel bad. That’s in part because we may be addicted. Want to feel better? Delete Facebook. As some experts have said, the system of rewards set up by Facebook and other social media platforms is akin to gambling or substance abuse cravings. Sean Parker, an early Facebook executive, explained that the thought process behind driving user engagement is akin to delivering “a little dopamine hit”.

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China’s Moon Lander Wakes Up From Its Long, Ultra-Cold Night

We already know it’s chilly on the moon. A lunar night lasts 14 Earth days, and its temperatures can dip into a cold so punishing it makes the polar vortex look like a hot tub. But yesterday, China’s space agency announced that the frigidity of the lunar night is even more intense than we’d thought: The country’s Chang’e 4 spacecraft recorded an icy low of –310 degrees Fahrenheit (–190 degrees Celsius).

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