Technically Fiction
- Life
We all have a (very tiny) glow of light, no movie magic needed
Normal cellular processes in living things — from germinating plants to our own cells — create biophotons, though escaping light isn’t visible to us.
- Planetary Science
Future Martians will need to breathe. It won’t be easy
Asteroid impacts, microbes, mining: These are a few tactics engineers might one day use to create an Earthlike atmosphere on Mars.
- Animals
The phoenix isn’t the only critter to survive the flames
There are no real phoenixes hiding anywhere. But science has revealed that some living things can take quite a bit of heat.
- Climate
Trees can’t get up and walk away, but forests can
In fantasy worlds, trees like the Lord of the Rings’ Ents are agile and mobile. In the real world, they’re slow.
- Tech
New audio tech could let you listen privately without headphones
Private listening out in the open is possible thanks to acoustic metasurfaces that precisely bend and direct sound waves.
- Neuroscience
Memory manipulation is the stuff of sci-fi. Someday it could be real
Experiments point to how scientists can strengthen or weaken memories, which may eventually lead to treatments for Alzheimer’s disease or PTSD.
- Space
‘Star Wars’ holds clues to making speedier spacecraft in the real world
Controlled fusion, solar sails or ion engines could someday help spaceships travel between star systems.
- Tech
Robots are gaining new capabilities thanks to plants and fungi
Biohybrid robots made with plant and fungal tissue are more sensitive to their surroundings.
- Health & Medicine
Can you actually die of a broken heart?
Death by heartbreak doesn't just happen in stories. In real life, severe stress can cause the sometimes-fatal takotsubo syndrome.
- Tech
Flying cars could soon become a reality
Engineers have all the technology they need to make flying cars, but there are still some barriers to getting these sci-fi mainstays off the ground.
