The Most Unknown
What Monkeys and ‘Dognition’ Can Teach Us About the Human Brain
Humans clearly have advanced mental abilities compared to other animals on Earth. Laurie Santos wants to know what makes us special.
Our Experience of Reality Is a Bunch of Hallucinations We Collectively Agree On
Anil Seth, a neuroscientist and director of the Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science at the University of Sussex, researches the biological basis of the otherwise ethereal topic of consciousness.
The World’s Most Precise Clock Reveals the Nature of Time and the Universe
Physicist Jun Ye built the world’s most precise clock and is part of the group of scientists who changed our understanding of time itself.
Methane-Eating Ocean Microbes Could Play a Major Role in Climate Change
Caltech geobiologist and MacArthur Fellow Victoria Orphan sheds light on the tiny single-celled organisms that help keep Earth’s climate in check.
What Baby Stars and Meteorites Can Tell Us About Our Solar System’s Past
Rachel Smith studies the birth of stars to better understand the origins of life on Earth, and perhaps elsewhere in the universe.
Tiny Organisms in Earth’s Most Unlivable Places May Help Us Find Alien Life
Luke McKay, an astrobiologist and microbial ecologist, is probing the extreme limits of life on Earth to answer bigger questions about the universe.
Scientists Still Don’t Totally Understand What It Means to Be Conscious
Axel Cleeremans, a psychologist and researcher, has spent the last 30 years trying to figure it out.
The New Hunt for Dark Matter Is Taking Place Under a Mountain
Davide D’Angelo wasn’t always interested in dark matter, but now he’s at the forefront of the hunt to find the most elusive particle in the universe.
The Geomicrobiologist Searching for the Origins of Life
Penn State professor and geomicrobiologist-slash-astrobiologist Jenn Macalady is answering how we and other organisms could survive on other planets, by looking deep into Earth’s history.
Watch the Trailer for 'The Most Unknown,' Motherboard's First Feature Documentary
We sent nine scientists across the world on a quest to explore the biggest questions in science, all to find out what drives discovery.