Spring storms in Texas can bring heavy rain, flash flooding, tornadoes — and hail. Sometimes the hail is pea-sized and harmless. Other times, it’s big enough to smash windshields, shred roofs and leave homeowners with costly repairs. But there is still a lot about hail that we don’t fully understand.

A new UT Austin report estimates data centers could account for up to 9% of Texas water use by 2040.

The race is on to get humans to Mars. But what will they find? Not little green men, despite that’s what many believed about the red planet. In the early 1900s it was thought that Mars was inhabited and was home to a utopian society in the grip of a planet-wide drought. How did Mars mania grip the nation, influence pop culture and give us cause to stare into the night sky and wonder?

Headlines have made clear that we are in a crisis of loneliness, but the conversation has yet to explore how social isolation impacts the body and mind on a cellular level. We are animals that need community and unity. We hear a neuroscientist’s guide to boosting your brain health by living a more connected life.

The species was identified after a chance encounter with Texas A&M-Galveston researchers.

It’s an essential insight about our world: Innovation drives economic growth. For the U.S. to thrive, it must keep innovating. But how, and in what areas? A new book co-authored by MIT faculty members focuses on key areas where technology advances can drive the economy and support national security. Semiconductors, biotechnology, drones, quantum computing, and advanced manufacturing — are all built on U.S. know-how, but these are also areas where the country could be falling behind.

Retired Air Force colonel and NASA astronaut Eileen Collins and filmmaker Hannah Berryman talk about the new documentary Spacewoman.

Recent breakthroughs have accelerated worries that AI may soon replace humans in the workforce on a massive scale. Two experts talk through how and whether that could happen.

The semi-aquatic dinosaur, Spinosaurus mirabilis, was discovered by an international team of scientists working in Niger.

What does science tell us about aging and trying to improve our health? We know that exercise is one way to hold off the worst effects of aging, but how much exercise do we need and how much does exercise really help? What other anti-aging interventions are available? There is growing consensus on what reliably works, what is promising but unproven, and what remains hype.