Stories by Mario Livio

We can’t yet tell how life got its start on Earth. That’s one great reason to keep looking for life elsewhere

Human intelligence may be just a brief phase before machines take over. That may answer where the aliens are hiding

For centuries, scientific discoveries have suggested humanity occupies no privileged place in the universe. Now, however, studies of worlds beyond our solar system could place meaningful new limits on our existential mediocrity

Four hundred years ago Galileo Galilei’s scientific findings were rejected because they didn’t fit the prevailing beliefs of the time. His story is disturbingly relevant today. Astrophysicist and author Mario Livio and Scientific American editor Clara Moskowitz to discusses lessons from Galileo’s life for dealing with science deniers now, plus a historical detective story about Galileo’s famous motto, “And yet it moves.”

An astrophysicist traces genealogy and art history to discover the origin of the famous motto

Astrophysicist and author Mario Livio talks about his latest book, Galileo: And the Science Deniers, and how the legendary scientist’s battles are still relevant today.

His essay on alien life was uncovered in 2016; now we have a second example of his previously unpublished thoughts about science

A note the physicist wrote in 1954 reveals his thinking on religion and science

Astrophysicist and author Mario Livio ventures deep into the human mind in his new book, Why? What Makes Us Curious.

Even in an age of ultra-specialization, says an astrophysicist in a new book, we absolutely do

Astrophysicist and author Mario Livio writes in the journal Nature and talks to Scientific American about the recently rediscovered essay by Winston Churchill that analyzed with impressive scientific accuracy the conditions under which extraterrestrial life might exist.  

In 1939, he wrote presciently about the possibilities of extraterrestrial life in a way modern scientists can admire

Why is the expansion of the universe accelerating? After two decades of study, the answer is as mysterious as ever, but the questions have become clearer

Alien life, if it exists, could be as simple as bacteria or more complex than humans—and there are optimal strategies for searching for both

Is math invented or discovered? A leading astrophysicist suggests that the answer to the millennia-old question is both

As they wait for the space telescope to be serviced one last time, astronomers reflect on its discoveries over the past 16 years