The Big Story14 Stories

The Big Story is a home for MIT Technology Review’s most important, ambitious reporting—stories that take a deep look at the technologies that are coming next and what they will mean for us and the world we live in.

  1. Which Covid-19 drugs work best?

    The first medical reports are in, but there’s no silver bullet for coronavirus infection yet.
    March 23, 2020
    patient being screened at New York City Hospital

  2. We’re not going back to normal

    Social distancing is here to stay for much more than a few weeks. It will upend our way of life, in some ways forever.
    March 17, 2020
    photograph of a single car on an highway

  3. What is herd immunity and can it stop the coronavirus?

    Once enough people get Covid-19, it will stop spreading on its own. But the costs will be devastating.
    March 17, 2020

  4. Lie detectors have always been suspect. AI has made the problem worse.

    An in-depth investigation into artificial-intelligence-based attempts to recognize deception.
    March 13, 2020
    Conceptual illustration showing a person whose face is obscured by a cloud with small soldiers repelling over it.

  5. The messy, secretive reality behind OpenAI’s bid to save the world

    The AI moonshot was founded in the spirit of transparency. This is the inside story of how competitive pressure eroded that idealism.
    February 17, 2020
    Photograph of three founding members of OpenAI

  6. Biologists rush to re-create the China coronavirus from its DNA code

    Synthetic versions of the deadly virus could help test treatments. But what are the risks when viruses can be synthetized from scratch?
    February 15, 2020
    Hospital workers in China

  7. A new implant for blind people jacks directly into the brain

    Researchers have successfully bypassed the eyes with a brain implant that allows rudimentary vision.
    February 6, 2020
    Neuron action potentials

  8. Climate change means the US must start building big things again

    Sorry if it blocks your views.
    January 15, 2020
    California high-speed rail line.

  9. An elegy for cash: the technology we might never replace

    Cash is gradually dying out. Will we ever have a digital alternative that offers the same mix of convenience and freedom?
    January 3, 2020
    Conceptual illustration of a coin funeral

  10. Meet the scientists trying to understand the world’s worst wildfires

    It won’t be easy to update the 47-year-old standard for predicting what fires will do—but it will save lives.
    December 16, 2019

  11. China’s CRISPR babies: Read exclusive excerpts from the unseen original research

    He Jiankui’s manuscript shows how he ignored ethical and scientific norms in creating the gene-edited twins Lulu and Nana.
    December 3, 2019
    Photo collage of people commenting

  12. Video game addiction is now being recognized—what happens next?

    Finding help can be a struggle for gamers who feel their playing has gotten out of control.
    November 25, 2019

  13. Ghost ships, crop circles, and soft gold: A GPS mystery in Shanghai

    A sophisticated new electronic warfare system is being used at the world’s busiest port. But is it sand thieves or the Chinese state behind it?
    November 15, 2019

  14. How the world’s biggest gun helped solve a long-standing space mystery

    A fog of micro-debris poses major risks to satellites and spaceships—and this test suggests there is a lot more of it than anyone had thought
    November 11, 2019
    Photograph of two people wearing gloves examining space debris on a yellow table top