Is it possible to die of boredom?

To figure out if we can die of boredom, we first have to understand what boredom is. For help, we called James Danckert, a psychologist who studies boredom at the University of Waterloo in Canada.

SO, WHAT IS A PRIMATE?

What do you have in common with the aye-aye, sifaka, siamang, and potto? If you said your collarbone, you re probably a primatologist—a person who studies primates. If you’re not, read on.

THE LEFT OVERS

A lot has happened for modern humans to get to this point. We lost most of our hair, learned how to make tools, established civilizations, sent a person to the Moon, and invented artificial intelligence. Whew! With all of these changes, our bodies have changed, too. It’s only taken us about six million years.

SERGE WICH

Serge Wich’s favorite days at work are spent out in the forest, studying orangutans in Sumatra and Borneo or chimpanzees in Tanzania.

Dr. Ape Will See You Now

HUMANS AREN’T THE ONLY  PRIMATES THAT USE MEDICATION.

Guardians of the Forest

EARLY, MAKESHIFT WILDLIFE DRONES HELPED TO DETECT AND PROTECT ORANGUTANS.

THE PROBLEM WITH PALM OIL

Palm oil is all around you. It’s in sugary snacks like cookies and candy bars. It’s in lipstick and shampoo and pet food.

ELODIE FREYMANN

When you’re feeling sick, it probably doesn’t occur to you to try eating tree bark.

APE ANTICS

The Whirling World of primate play

Who's Your Cousin?

The great apes are among the most popular animals in most zoos. Their actions, facial expressions, and family life remind us so much of ourselves. Have you ever wondered, though, how we might look to them?

JUSTIN DARNALL

AEROSPACE ENGINEER

THE POWER OF TIDES

THE PUSH AND PULL OF MOONS WITH THEIR HOST PLANETS

WHO OWNS THE MOON?

INDIA LANDED AN UNCREWED SPACECRAFT ON THE MOON FOR THE FIRST TIME IN AUGUST 2023. Japan just reached the Moon for the first time with a robotic spacecraft in January. And in 2026, the United States is set to land astronauts on the Moon for the first time in more than half a century with its Artemis III mission.

Ready, Set, Eclipse!

AN OBSERVER'S GUIDE TO THE TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE ON APRIL 8, 2024

The Truth About Pluto

THEN ONE DAY IT WASN'T A PLANET. THE END.

New Moons of Saturn

A NEW DISCOVERY IS CHANGING THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT THE MOONS IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.

INVESTIGATING ICY MOONS

The Search for Hidden Oceans-and Extra-Terrestrial Life

To the Moon-and Beyond!

NASA'S ARTEMIS PROGRAM IS SET TO RETURN HUMANS TO THE MOON AFTER MORE THAN HALF A CENTURY.

EDWARD ASHTON

ASTRONOMER

(Don't) Fly Me to the Moon

WAS IT A CONSPIRACY? NOPE. BUT NO-MOONIES ARE SKEPTICAL ANYWAY.

A Six-Planet Solar System in Perfect Synchrony Has Been Found in the Milky Way

Astronomers have discovered a rare in-sync solar system with six planets moving like a grand cosmic orchestra, untouched by outside forces since their birth billions of years ago.

Are plants aware of themselves?

Sure, scientists noticed one of my special skills. But most people are still overlooking my epic poetry.

SUSTAINABLE AVIATION EXPERT

REDUCING AIRPLANES' CARBON EMISSIONS

Two Brothers From Ohio

Most people do not realize that the Wright brothers—Wilbur, born in 1867, and Orville, born in 1871—performed various scientific experiments before inventing their aircraft. For as long as anyone in their hometown of Dayton, Ohio, could remember, the Wright boys had worked on mechanical projects.

GROWTH OF AN INDUSTRY

After their historic flight at Kitty Hawk in 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright returned to Dayton, Ohio. They spent the next few years making adjustments and building additional versions of their powered aircraft in their bicycle shop.

THE TROUBLE WITH TRANSPORTERS

Quantum teleportation has been achieved. But can it work for people?

THE FORMULA FOR FLYING

Want to fly? Then you must balance these four forces.

THE IDEA MEN

People dreamed of flying thousands of years before the Wright brothers found success near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. These dreamers, such as Leonardo da Vinci, studied birds flying and imagined how humans might do the same—if only they had wings. Other men developed a more hands-on approach to the topic. Early inventors made wings of cloth, glue, and feathers and tied these creations to their arms in an attempt to imitate nature.

A Helping Hand

May 6, 1896. A group of people who had gathered beside the Potomac River, just south of the U.S. capital, grew quiet. Then, it erupted in cheers as a small, unmanned aircraft took to the skies and flew for more than half a mile. The flight came seven years before the Wright brothers’ first manned, powered flight. The inventor of the aircraft was Dr. Samuel Pierpont Langley.

Silken Wings

Seven hundred years before the Wright brothers began experimenting with human flight, the Chinese had already mastered its secrets—with kites.