NASA and the European Space Agency are planning to retrieve rocks and dust from the Mars for study on Earth. The agencies don’t think the samples will contain anything that’s alive. But nobody can put the potential risk of Mars samples at zero.

The final presidential debate of the 2020 campaign is upon us, and so is the Bulletin's existential threat scorecard.

In more ways than one, coal is blackening India’s reputation.

To help quench your existential thirst as sunny days and outdoor activities beckon, here’s a guide to some of the doomiest beers and other drinks to come across our radar screen.

Why a Saharan dust storm is heading for the US

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has published a revelatory new article that describes how the United States nuclear forces modernization program has been mischaracterized to the general public as a reasonable effort to update the safety of US nuclear warheads. The authors, Hans M. Kristensen, Matthew G. McKinzie, and Theodore A. Postol, write that … Continued

DOOMSDAY CLOCK MOVES AHEAD: “Words Matter”: Board Marks 70th Anniversary of Iconic Clock By Expressing Concern About “Unsettling” and “Ill-Considered” Statements of President Trump on Nuclear Weapons and Climate Change; Developments in North Korea, Russia, India and Pakistan Also Highlighted. WASHINGTON, D.C. – January 26, 2017 – It is now two and a half minutes to … Continued

Tens of thousands of people came to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ website over the last week, looking for answers on what a new Trump administration means for the health and safety of our planet. As Bulletin editor John Mecklin writes, Donald Trump’s positions on serious questions have often ricocheted from side to side: … Continued

It's 3 minutes to midnight, and in America it’s time to vote. Here's what you need to know about the challenges the next president will confront. The stakes couldn't be higher. The Experts Comment: What Should Journalists (And Other Citizens) Ask The US Presidential Candidates About Nuclear Weapons The September/October subscription journal: A mix of … Continued

An extraordinary global energy transformation will be required for the world to successfully slow and then halt climate change, and that transformation will change the power dynamics among nations. The security arrangements necessary to keep the peace among the powers that vie for an energy advantage in the coming renewables era demand attention now. Here's … Continued

On Monday, October 10, Russian President Vladimir Putin withdrew his country from the US-Russia Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement (PMDA). The PDMA, first signed in 2000 and renewed in 2009, affirmed the intention of each country to dispose of stockpiles of plutonium that could be used to build nuclear warheads. President Putin’s decision to pull … Continued

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has announced that Lew Watts has been named vice chair; and that John Balkcom and Marjorie Benton have been elected to the Governing Board. Lew Watts has served on the Bulletin’s Governing Board since 2013, and chairs its Development Committee. He is joining Bill Revelle as one of the … Continued

The 2016 presidential race is unusual in many ways, but a silver lining of sorts has emerged: For the first time since Lyndon Johnson’s famous “Daisy” political ad during the 1964 presidential campaign, the control that the president of the United States wields over the US nuclear arsenal is under serious discussion. In his introduction … Continued

Bulletin Media Contact: Janice Sinclaire, [email protected] CHICAGO– June 7, 2016 – The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced today that Skype co-founder Jaan Tallinn has been appointed to its Board of Sponsors. Chaired by theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss, the Board of Sponsors provides scientific and technological insights to the organization on a variety of matters, including … Continued

For immediate release: March 9, 2016 Bulletin Media Contact: Janice Sinclaire, [email protected] CHICAGO– March 9, 2016 – The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has announced that Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering is being honored with a place on the organization’s Board of Sponsors, where he joins 16 Nobel Laureates and other eminent leaders who act as … Continued

For immediate release Bulletin Media Contact: Janice Sinclaire, [email protected] CHICAGO– September 15, 2015 – The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has announced that Thomas Pickering will join its Science and Security Board. Attorney Lowell Sachnoff will rejoin the organization’s Governing Board after a year-long absence, and Sonny Garg and Gloria Scoby will join the Governing … Continued

Bulletin Media Contact: Janice Sinclaire, [email protected] CHICAGO– July, 21, 2015 – The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has announced that Lawrence Krauss has been elected Chair of the organization’s Board of Sponsors; Nobel Laureate Leon Lederman has been elected Chair Emeritus, marking the first time the Bulletin has bestowed such an honor. Lederman is an experimental … Continued

Bulletin Media Contact: Janice Sinclaire: 707.481.9372; [email protected] CHICAGO– June 24, 2015 –The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists announced today that it is receiving a two-year, $450,000 grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to support two new Bulletin initiatives: a museum display about the past and future of nuclear energy, and a second project about communicating science to the public. … Continued

A careful review of threats leads the Bulletin's Science and Security Board to conclude that the risk of civilization-threatening technological catastrophe remains high, and that the hands of the Doomsday Clock should therefore remain at five minutes to midnight.