Matt Reynolds
Senior writer
Matt Reynolds is a senior writer at WIRED, where he covers climate, food, and biodiversity. Before that, he was a technology journalist at New Scientist magazine. His first book, The Future of Food: How to Feed the Planet Without Destroying It, was published in 2020. Reynolds is a graduate of the University of Oxford and he lives in London.
Out of Gas
Europe’s Plan to Wean Itself off Russian Gas Just Might Work
Russia has made good on threats to reduce supply—leaving the EU to navigate several tough winters of energy squeezes.
WIRED Q&A
The Future Could Be Blissful—If Humans Don’t Go Extinct First
WIRED talked with long-termist philosopher William MacAskill about human extinction, Elon Musk, and his new book, What We Owe the Future.
Swap Meats
Plant-Based Burgers Aren’t Denting Our Beef Addiction
Alternative proteins were meant to reduce the carbon footprint of our diets. But it doesn’t look like people are switching ... yet.
Public Health
Embryonic Research Could Be the Next Target After Roe
Stem cell research has underpinned IVF’s success, but legal experts, clinicians, and potential donors worry about its future.
Lights Out
Scientists Are Trying to Grow Crops in the Dark
Powering plant growth with solar panels instead of photosynthesis could be a more efficient way of using the Sun’s energy for food. But it’s not all good news.
Bait and Switch
How Covid Tracking Apps Are Pivoting for Commercial Profit
In the pandemic’s early days, government-backed public health apps acquired millions of users—a ready-made audience developers are eager to tap.
Off Menu
This Startup Wants You to Eat Ground-Up Chicken Bones
A Finnish company says it has found a way to incorporate bone into ground chicken, lowering the production cost and environmental impact of the meat. But will anyone eat it?
Culture War
The Almighty Squabble Over Who Gets to Name Microbes
Scientists are just starting to uncover the vast diversity of microbes out there. The only problem? No one can agree on how to name them.
Don't Have A Cow
You Don't Have to Quit Meat to Save the Planet—Just Eat Less
If everyone ate just 20 percent less beef, deforestation rates by 2050 could be half as bad.
Deep Trouble
It’s Not Too Late to Stop Mass Extinction in the Ocean
A quarter of a billion years ago, rising temperatures emptied the oceans of life. The planet now faces a similar threat, but the outcome is in human hands.
Power Struggle
The Energy Crisis Is Pushing Solar Adoption—for Those Who Can Pay
Rooftop solar panels are gaining popularity as the UK faces higher energy prices. But lower-income people are being left behind once again.
Growing Pains
Biofuels Are Getting a Second Look—and Some Tough Questions
Bioethanol has been touted as a green way to cut reliance on Russian oil. But new modeling suggests it isn't the climate solution we'd hoped for.
Ukraine
Chernobyl Was a Wildlife Haven. Then Russian Troops Arrived
The area around the defunct power plant has been an unexpected rewilding success story. Now attempts to monitor progress are hampered by the war.
Tall Order
A Bold Idea to Stall the Climate Crisis—by Building Better Trees
Changing the genetic makeup of trees could supercharge their ability to suck up carbon dioxide. But are forests of frankentrees really a good idea?
Ukraine
These Ukrainians Are Stuck in Antarctica as War Rages at Home
At the Vernadsky research base, a crew of 12 Ukrainians watch from thousands of miles away as their country is battered by Russian attacks.
Ancient DNA
Africa’s Oldest DNA Is Helping Address Science’s Racial Bias
Scientists have way more DNA from ancient Europeans than Africans. Now analysis of a genome from nearly 20,000 years ago is answering questions about the continent’s past.
Fake Chews
The True Story of the Viral False Teeth That Fooled The World
Paul Bishop vomited his false teeth into a Spanish bin 11 years ago. Then a DNA analysis seemingly returned them to his home in the UK. But the truth, it turns out, is even weirder.
Bug 2.0
For Insect Farming to Work, Scientists Need to Build a Better Bug
Faster-growing, fatter critters could provide the protein needed to raise more climate-friendly livestock and pets.
Big Business
You're (Maybe) Gonna Need a Patent for That Woolly Mammoth
Scientists are racing to bring extinct species back from the dead. But does a resurrected mammoth belong to nature, or us?
Food for Thought
Did Eating Meat Really Make Us Human?
For decades, scientists thought that being more carnivorous set our ancestors along their evolutionary path. New evidence casts doubt on this theory.