Bizarre Blue 'Jellyfish' Washing Up on California Beaches Are a Sign of Spring

’Tis the season for hordes of blue jellyfishlike creatures to wash up on California beaches | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

Surviving in the Ephemeral Pools of Life

Carpets of gold, burrowing toads and fairy shrimp all depend on vernal pools—habitats that, most of the time, do not exist. | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

Surges of Activity in the Dying Human Brain Could Hint at Fleeting Conscious Experiences

An increase in activity in dying brains might be associated with last-minute conscious experiences, but scientists don't know for sure | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

Many Bird Species Are Having Fewer Chicks as the World Warms

Many bird species are producing fewer offspring as global temperatures rise, and larger migratory species are particularly affected | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

Plant Cell Parts Turn into Glass to Soak Up Sun

Chloroplasts’ choreography keeps plant cells powered | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

Where Did Mars's Moons Come From?

New results from a U.A.E. orbiter suggest Mars’s moons may be pieces of the planet. A Japanese mission will tell us for sure | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

What Are Puberty Blockers and How Do They Work?

Decades of data support the use and safety of puberty-pausing medications, which give transgender adolescents and their families time to weigh important medical decisions | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

Melting Sea Ice May Fog Out the Famed Northwest Passage

Melting sea ice is opening new pathways through the Arctic such as the famed Northwest Passage. But it is also reducing visibility and potentially causing delays | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

A Brain Scanner Combined with an AI Language Model Can Provide a Glimpse into Your Thoughts

New technology gleans the gist of stories a person hears while laying in a brain scanner | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

50, 100 & 150 Years Ago: May 2023

King Tut’s bountiful tomb; music from fire | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

Scientists Create Cyborg Bacteria

Bacteria with artificial hydrogel skeletons could be used as tiny robots | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

This Fleeting Ecosystem Is Magical, and You Have Probably Never Heard of It or Even Noticed It

Vernal pools are home to spectacular residents such as fairy shrimp, but these unusual natural wonders are under threat. | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

Deepest Fish Discovered More Than 5 Miles below the Sea Surface. | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

What the First Lung Delivered by Drone Means for Transplant Science

Scientists document a groundbreaking flight to deliver a lung for transplant | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

How Much Does 'Nothing' Weigh?

The Archimedes experiment will weigh the void of empty space to help solve a big cosmic puzzle | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

How Magnetic Fields Control Galactic Growth

Our galaxy’s enormous scaffolding is shaped by complex magnetic fields | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

Proteins Never Seen in Nature Are Designed Using AI to Address Biomedical and Industrial Problems Unsolved by Evolution

Bioengineers are drawing on rapidly evolving machine learning tools, deep reservoirs of data, and the firepower of a program called AlphaFold2 to pursue more sophisticated de novo protein designs | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

These Are the Places at Greatest Risk from Extreme Heat

Communities in certain spots around the world, such as Afghanistan, Papua New Guinea and Central America, are likely to experience record-breaking heat events but may not be prepared | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

With a Planned Moon Launch, NASA Must Put Safety First

NASA is again sending people to the moon; the agency must revamp its safety reporting procedures to protect everyone involved | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

This Pioneering Nuclear-Fusion Lab Is Gearing up to Break More Records

Here’s what’s next after the U.S. National Ignition Facility’s breakthrough on nuclear fusion last year | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

Strange Material Breaks a Classic Rule of Physics

An unusual semiconductor is making physicists rethink the science of extreme conditions | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

Information Theory Finds the Best Wordle Starting Words

Information theory can help people mathematically calculate the best starting guess for the popular online game | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

Information Theory Finds the Best Wordle Starting Words

Information theory can help people mathematically calculate the best starting guess for a popular online game | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

This 19th-Century Obscenity Law Is Still Restricting People's Reproductive Rights

The Comstock Act is part of a federal case over access to abortion pills. A historical science-fiction writer weighs in on the legacy of 19th-century prudishness | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

The Lifesaving Sled Dog Balto Had Genes unlike Those of Dog Breeds Today

The genome of the 1920s Siberian husky Balto suggests that greater genetic diversity and less inbreeding contribute to better health | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

What Makes a Mammal? 423,000 Newly Identified DNA Regions Guide Our Genes

These elements, dubbed “UNICORNs,” sit close to genes that affect smell, sleep and ways that people and other mammals interact with their surroundings | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

50,000 Worms Tangled Up in a Ball Unravel in an Explosive Burst when a Predator Appears

California blackworms make a contribution to the math and physics of knot tying by demoing twisting motions that help them escape a tangled worm ball | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

Dogs Can Carry Mutant Flu Strains

A mutant human influenza found in two dogs shows the importance of viral surveillance in companion animals | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

What It Would Take for Electric Vehicles to Help Power the Grid

A new bill in California proposes making electric vehicles a backup power source for the electric grid—an idea that has promise but has to overcome several technological hurdles, experts say | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

A Proposal to Change Medical Training Will Affect Autism Care

The prevalence of autism and other developmental disorders is rising. Changing who teaches early-career pediatricians about these issues will negatively affect children’s health | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

Physicists See 'Strange Matter' Form inside Atomic Nuclei

New research attempts to discern how bizarre particles of strange matter form in the nuclei of atoms | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

Deadly African Drought Wouldn't Have Happened without Climate Change

A severe drought that has led to near-famine conditions in the Horn of Africa would not have happened without the influence of climate change, a new analysis finds | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

The Bad Side of 'Good' Cholesterol

Very high HDL cholesterol levels almost double your risk of heart problems. | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

Science, Not Legalized Discrimination, Should Drive Health Care Policy

A federal ruling on ACA is threatening lifesaving medical services, and prioritizing anti-LGBTQ+ bias over scientific evidence | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

Is Time Travel Possible?

The laws of physics allow time travel. So why haven’t people become chronological hoppers? | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

A Rare Glimpse into Afghanistan's Spectacular, Vanishing Forests

Afghanistan’s rare and majestic woodlands can’t shake the echoes of war, desperation and poverty | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

How Winners of the 'Green Nobel' Are Protecting the Environment

The Goldman Environmental Prize has announced its 2023 awards. Three winners speak about their efforts to protect wilderness and fight polluters | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

Japanese Moon Landing Attempt Falls Short as Spacecraft Goes Silent

With an apparent crash, the HAKUTO-R mission from the private space exploration company ispace has joined a long list of failed moon landers | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

Who Invented the Measurement of Time?

The first timekeeping devices were probably natural materials lost to the ages, but the ancient Egyptians were the first to leave records of their timekeeping methods | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

Jupiter's Hot Youth May Have Melted Its Icy Moons

The gas giant planet’s youthful glow could explain major differences between its four largest satellites | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

AI Chatbots and the Humans Who Love Them

Humans are building meaningful relationships with AI chatbots. What will the consequences be? | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

This Cow and Pig Influenza Virus Could Infect Humans: What We Know So Far

Influenza D is only known to sicken cattle and pigs, but it “has everything it needs” to jump into people | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

Quantum Physics Falls Apart without Imaginary Numbers

Imaginary numbers—the square roots of negative numbers—are an inescapable part of quantum theory, a study shows | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

Our Sun Was Born in a Stellar Family Far, Far From Here

We only have a few clues about where the sun was born. Some new ones point to a crowded origin story for our nearest star | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

Can Putting a Price on a Whale Save the Environment?

A single whale can lock up as much carbon as 1,000 trees. By turning them into carbon credits, a new project hopes to save the climate and the whales | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

Telehealth Is Proving to be a Boon to Cancer and Diabetes Care

Virtual visits surged in the pandemic, and studies show they maintain high-quality medicine | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

Leopards Are Living among People. And That Could Save the Species

For leopards to survive, we must learn to live with them | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago

Cool Transportation Hacks Cities Are Using to Fight Climate Change

Through “bike buses,” more pedestrian-friendly streets and electric vehicles, some cities are making strides in decarbonizing transportation | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 1 year ago