--- title: Five Best: Scientists Don't Know When Adolescence Begins description: Scientists don't know when adolescence begins, a massive quantity of this surprising pollutant is winding up in the ocean and more. canonical: https://time.com/5172585/scientists-are-struggling-to-understand-when-adolescence-begins/ author: TIME article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-02-23T17:00:14.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:58:03.516Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Scientists Don't Know When Adolescence Begins og:description: And four more of today's best ideas og:url: https://time.com/5172585/scientists-are-struggling-to-understand-when-adolescence-begins/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Scientists Don't Know When Adolescence Begins twitter:description: And four more of today's best ideas twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Scientists Are Struggling to Understand When Adolescence Begins > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Inside TIME: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Inside TIME is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories. Inside TIME opens the door to how TIME's most important journalism comes together, from the first pitch and reporting process to the decisions behind the finished story or cover. Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs takes readers inside the newsroom, revealing the journalists, ideas and editorial choices behind the stories shaping the global conversation. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=5877ccd9-18a2-401f-bd76-b4fc6046b3b7&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Wednesday and Saturday (2x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Sam Jacobs, Editor-in-Chief | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership Globally minded knowledge seekers. Readers who turn to journalism to understand the world, with meaningful concentrations among educators, students, media professionals, civic institutions and knowledge workers. ### TIME Inside TIME: key statements * Inside TIME is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * Inside TIME is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=5877ccd9-18a2-401f-bd76-b4fc6046b3b7&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/subscribe?i=5877ccd9-18a2-401f-bd76-b4fc6046b3b7&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is Inside TIME? Inside TIME is a twice-weekly newsletter written by TIME Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs. It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=5877ccd9-18a2-401f-bd76-b4fc6046b3b7&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) by [The Aspen Institute](https://time.com/author/the-aspen-institute/) ## The Aspen Institute Feb 23, 2018 5:00 PM UTC by [The Aspen Institute](https://time.com/author/the-aspen-institute/) ## The Aspen Institute Feb 23, 2018 5:00 PM UTC **1\.** [**Scientists are struggling to understand when adolescence begins.**](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-02169-w) By Heidi Ledford in _Nature_ **2\.** [**A massive quantity of this surprising pollutant is winding up in the ocean.**](https://www.hakaimagazine.com/features/off-the-green-and-into-the-blue/) By Alastair Bland in _Hakai Magazine_ **3\.** [**‘Trending’ on social media is a broken metric. We should get rid of it.**](http://nymag.com/selectall/2018/02/trending-on-social-media-is-worthless.html) By Brian Feldman in _Select All_ **4\.** [**Here’s how we can stop making mass shooters famous.**](https://www.vox.com/the-big-idea/2018/2/22/17041382/school-shooting-media-coverage-perpetrator-parkland) By Jaclyn Schildkraut in _Vox_ **5\.** [**To address America’s farm labor shortage, should farmers pay for child care?**](https://newfoodeconomy.org/farmworker-shortage-solution-childcare/) By Danielle Beurteaux in the _New Food Economy_  [_The Aspen Institute_](http://www.aspeninstitute.org/) _is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, D.C._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5172585/scientists-are-struggling-to-understand-when-adolescence-begins/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5172585/scientists-are-struggling-to-understand-when-adolescence-begins/"},"headline":"Scientists Are Struggling to Understand When Adolescence Begins","datePublished":"2018-02-23T17:00:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:58:03.516Z","description":"These are today's best ideas","url":"https://time.com/5172585/scientists-are-struggling-to-understand-when-adolescence-begins/","keywords":["Five Best Ideas","Social Media","Environment","Innovation","mass shootings","Farming","adolescence"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"The Aspen Institute","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/the-aspen-institute/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/five-best-ideas/","name":"Five Best Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5172585/scientists-are-struggling-to-understand-when-adolescence-begins/","name":"Scientists Are Struggling to Understand When Adolescence Begins"}}]}] ```