SCIENCE
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Report of gene-edited human embryos sparks worries about the technology’s future uses
A preprint describing genetically edited human embryos is raising concerns among scientists that the U.S. is becoming more accepting of using gene editing to enhance embryos. “The cat’s out of the bag,” says Alexis Komor, deputy director of the Sanford Stem Cell Innovation Center at the University of California, San Diego, who was not involved in the new finding. A…
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How math can help you decide what to order for dinner
In a scene that could have easily featured in an episode of the US television sitcom The Big Bang Theory, the late US physicist Richard Feynman once turned a visit to a Thai restaurant he often dined at into a mathematical riddle: how adventurous should we be in trying new dishes? Feynman promptly solved this on a sheet of paper.…
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A flesh-eating New World screwworm was just found in a Texas cow—here’s what to know
The first case of the New World screwworm in a U.S. cow in about 60 years has been detected, the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed yesterday. It is the first instance of the agricultural pest in cattle since it was eliminated in the U.S. in 1966. Screwworms are parasitic flies that lays their eggs in open wounds or cuts or…
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Oldest cave art in the U.K. discovered inside Welsh cave
June 1, 2026 2 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm For 100 years, scientists thought these red markings were natural—now researchers say they’re ancient human art A new analysis of red lines inside a cave in Wales suggest they were made deliberately by ancient humans some 17,000 years ago By Adam Kovac edited by Claire Cameron “Rediscovered Late Upper…
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Retatrutide results spark questions about how rapid weight loss affects the body
Once people understood glucagonlike peptide 1 (GLP-1) drugs’ potential for weight loss, the race among pharmaceutical companies was on. Among the current options, Wegovy can help people lose an average of 10 percent of their body weight in a year, while people taking Zepbound have had about a 15 percent loss, on average, in the same period. Soon the most…
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How the mathematician Gödel proved that not everything can be proven
May 26, 2026 3 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm Why some mathematical theorems will always be unprovable A statement can be true or false. But as Kurt Gödel demonstrated, there will always be mathematical assumptions that can neither be proven nor disproven By Manon Bischoff edited by Daisy Yuhas Jose Luis Pelaez Inc/Getty Images This article is from…
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The universe could have 18 possible shapes
What shape is the universe? This question is far more intriguing and truly unresolved than any debate over the shape of our planet, despite the claims of flat-Earthers. We occupy only a tiny space within a gigantic cosmos. Our vantage point is limited. Nevertheless, cosmologists are now fairly certain that our universe is flat. But that doesn’t explain the exact…
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These bizarre fossils represent some of the earliest moving, sexually reproducing life ever discovered
May 20, 2026 3 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm These bizarre fossils represent some of the earliest moving, sexually reproducing life ever discovered New trove of fossils reveals that ancestral animals likely emerged in the deep sea By Jack Tamisiea edited by Sarah Lewin Frasier A paleoartist’s interpretation of what a newfound fossil site’s deep-sea ecosystem looked like…
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Did Homo erectus and Denisovans mate? Tooth proteins hint at ancient trysts
It is well known that human relatives interbred: Homo sapiens with Neanderthals, Neanderthals with Denisovans, Denisovans with Homo sapiens. Now there is evidence for another ancient tryst, between Denisovans and Homo erectus. That’s according to an analysis of ancient proteins extracted from the teeth of six H. erectus individuals that lived in China 400,000 years ago. The work, published in…
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Can helium-3 create a ‘gold rush’ on the moon?
Since time immemorial, humans gazing up at the moon have asked grand questions. Where did it come from? Why does it wax and wane? Is it made of cheese? We now have responses to most of these (“a giant impact,” “orbital phases” and “no, sadly,” respectively). But as an international 21st-century lunar race intensifies, one pragmatic query remains: How can…
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