A desalination plant in Hamburg, Germany. (Credit: Andrea Izzotti/Shutterstock) In places like San Diego and Dubai where freshwater is scarce, humans turn to machines that pull the salt out of seawater, transforming it into clean drinking water. This process, called desalination, has been turning sea and brackish groundwater into potable water since the mid-20th century. The technology could become increasingly important in the near future, as the rising temperatures and erratic rain pat ...read more

Narcissists display lower levels of stress and depression, an indication that the trait might sometimes be helpful. (Credit: G-Stock Studio/Shutterstock) Kostas Papageorgiou wants you to embrace your inner narcissist. Fittingly, it’s for your own benefit: The Queen’s University Belfast psychology researcher’s latest study shows narcissism might be linked to lower stress levels and reduced risk of depression. Still, he can do without the manipulation, lack of empathy, and ...read more

There is only one Sean Carroll at Caltech in the world we know. But he could exist in of a multitude of worlds incrementally different from this one. (Credit: Bill Youngblood/Corey S. Powell) Let’s begin at the beginning. What is the Many Worlds Interpretation? It begins with quantum mechanics, which is our best theory of elementary particles and the microscopic world. There’s this thing in quantum mechanics that says, before you look at an object it's not in any definite loca ...read more