About

Science reporting has a length problem. The press release is too thin, the paper is too long, and the article in between is usually padded to hit a word count.

A Minute of Science publishes one thing: the shortest honest version of a story. Every piece is timed. Most take a minute; none pretend to be shorter than they are.

How stories are chosen

Three questions decide whether something gets published here.

• Does it change what a reasonable person should believe?
• Can it be explained without requiring the reader to already know the field?
• Is there a real source behind it, rather than a press office?

A result that is interesting only because it is surprising does not qualify. Neither does one that cannot be described without three paragraphs of background.

How to read the dial

Every story carries a small circular gauge. The arc shows how long the piece takes to read on a five-minute face. On a story page it doubles as a progress ring — it fills as you scroll, and the number counts down the minutes you have left.

Corrections

Errors are fixed in place, with a note at the foot of the story explaining what changed and when. Nothing is quietly edited.