The Biggest Lie You’ve Been Told About Happiness, By A Psychologist

Science has a name for the ‘happiness trap’ most of us are living inside, and understanding it may be the most clarifying thing you do all year.

Meet The ‘Jesus Christ Lizard’ That Runs On Water — A Herpetologist Explains

What looks like a miracle is a razor-thin margin of survival. Meet the lizard that runs on water, and why it only works for so long.

How Bruce The Broken Beaked Kea Became King Of His Circus

Bruce surprised researchers by turning his physical disability into a successful advantage, both behaviorally and physiologically.

Shark Bites In 2025: Understanding The Real Risk Around The World

The new reports is a reminder that shark bites remain extremely rare, but they also raise important questions about co-existence.

There Are 45 Earth-Like Worlds Where Aliens May Exist, Scientists Say

Scientists identify 45 potentially habitable exoplanets, using exact data and quotes to guide future telescopes in the search for extraterrestrial life.

200 Judges Have Signed Up To Learn AI—The Other 31,500 Should Too

The Judicial AI Consortium is free, judges-only, and run by three sitting judges. About 200 have joined. The evidence landing in courtrooms says that is not enough.

AI-Designed Drugs by a DeepMind Spinoff Are Headed to Human Trials

Isomorphic Labs president Max Jaderberg said at WIRED Health in London that the startup has built a “broad and exciting pipeline of new medicines.”

Designer Baby Companies Are in Turmoil

Bootstrap Bio and Manhattan Genomics, which were pursuing human embryo editing to prevent serious disease, have shut down.

Artist Refik Anadol On Turning Oxford Archives Into A Living AI Dreamscape

Anadol’s installation “Archive Dreaming” transforms vast botanical datasets into a visual spectacle. It’s on display at a new Oxford University center for the humanities.

I don’t think Gwyneth Paltrow knows what a peptide is
I don’t think Gwyneth Paltrow knows what a peptide is

This is Optimizer, a weekly newsletter sent every Friday from Verge senior reviewer Victoria Song that dissects and discusses the latest gizmos and potions that swear they’re going to change your life. Opt in for Optimizer here. These days, it seems I cannot escape peptides. Online, I’ve been assaulted by videos of shirtless Chads injecting […]