Space
What will it take to defend the world from an asteroid?
In How to Kill an Asteroid, Robin George Andrews looks at the successes and shortcomings of planetary defense.
Current Issue
Featured Articles in this Issue
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Cover Story
Brain-controlled bionic limbs are inching closer to reality
Bionics engineers typically view biology as something to be worked around. “Anatomics” engineers the body to be part of the system.
Reviews & Previews
Science Visualized
Astronomy
A zombie star’s spiky filaments shed light on a 12th century supernova
A 3-D map of the strange remains of a supernova seen in 1181 traces the odd tendrils of gas that jut out for several light-years in all directions.
Notebook
Life
The oldest known fossil tadpole was a big baby
Fossils of the ancient frog Notobatrachus degiustoi push the known tadpole timeline back more than 30 million years.
Features
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This ‘hidden figure’ of entomology fought for civil rights
Margaret S. Collins, the first Black American female entomologist to earn a Ph.D., overcame sexism and racism to become a termite expert.
More Stories from the November 30, 2024 issue
- Health & Medicine
Male mosquitoes sometimes suck, too
Blood isn’t actually toxic to all male mosquitos. In at least one virus-carrying species, it may even help them live longer.
- Health & Medicine
Youth tobacco use has gone down, but the work isn’t over
In 2024, tobacco use among middle and high school students reached a record low, but new vapes and other products with nicotine keep coming.
- Astronomy
A cosmic census triples the known number of black holes in dwarf galaxies
The DESI survey reveals that active black holes in small galaxies are common. The findings may help reveal how the two cosmic bodies evolve together.
- Health & Medicine
Lizard spit can help detect a rare pancreatic tumor
A protein found in Gila monster saliva flags tiny pancreatic tumors in PET scans.
- Space
A near-Earth asteroid offers clues to one dark matter theory
Data from the OSIRIS-REx mission to Bennu place a ceiling on the strength of a hypothetical fifth force that could explain dark matter’s origins.
- Health & Medicine
Limiting sugar in infancy reduces the risk of diabetes and hypertension
Children who experienced sugar rationing during World War II were less likely to develop some chronic illnesses as adults than those with no rationing.
- Science & Society
Using AI, historians track how astronomy ideas spread in the 16th century
A new AI machine learning technique helped historians analyze 76,000 pages from astronomy textbooks spanning nearly two centuries.
- Anthropology
The ‘midlife crisis’ is too simple a story, scientists say
Some scientists want to shift focus to the teen mental health crisis. But the course of happiness is too complex for simplistic theories, experts warn.
- Archaeology
A huge, ancient Maya city has been found in southern Mexico
Lasers revealed that the city spanned roughly the same area as Beijing and may have been among the most densely populated in the region.
- Animals
Polar bears are being exposed to more pathogens as the climate warms
Polar bears have been exposed to more viruses, bacteria and parasites in recent decades, a new study shows, possibly acquiring the germs in their diet.
- Health & Medicine
The virus behind an outbreak in Brazil can spread from mother to fetus
Transmission of Oropouche virus to the womb has been confirmed in two stillbirths and one birth with congenital anomalies that occurred in Brazil.
- Tech
Feather-inspired airplane flaps could boost flight performance
Rows of flaps inspired by bird wing feathers improve airfoil performance by boosting lift, reducing drag and mitigating stall.
- Psychology
Smiles tweaked by AI can boost attraction, a speed-dating study shows
Using face filters to alter expressions manipulated feelings of attraction, raising questions about how such technology may influence social interactions.
- Archaeology
A digital exam reels in engraved scenes of Stone Age net fishing
Nearly 16,000-year-old portrayals of fish surrounded by nets had evaded detection until a new technique took magnification to a new level.
- Science & Society
A new biography of Benjamin Franklin puts science at the forefront
Richard Munson’s new book, Ingenious, shows how scientific research inspired the founding father’s diplomacy.
- Particle Physics
50 years ago, physics underwent a major revolution
The discovery of new subatomic particles cemented quarks as a cornerstone of the standard model of particle physics.
