SCIENCE
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What’s Behind the ‘Arctic Blast’ Plunging into the U.S.?
January 12, 2024 3 min read This week’s cold snap across the U.S. will be one of “the most impressive Arctic outbreaks of this century,” one climate scientist says By Meghan Bartels After months of record-breaking warm temperatures, much of the U.S. is facing a harsh, fast-approaching blast of frigid air from the Arctic that could plunge wind chill factors…
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Enigmatic Dinosaur Skull Sparks Debate over Tyrannosaur Evolution
January 11, 2024 4 min read A dinosaur skull first discovered in the 1980s was originally catalogued as a T. rex. Now some scientists argue it represents a new species of tyrannosaur and could shed light on where the massive animals originated By Meghan Bartels Reconstruction of Tyrannosaurus mcraeensis. Revisiting a partial dinosaur skull first discovered in the 1980s has some scientists…
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The U.S. Energy Transition Explained in 8 Numbers
CLIMATEWIRE | The power sector is key to U.S. efforts to cut planet-warming pollution this decade. Technologies for generating wind and solar energy are expected to green the economy faster than electric cars and heat pumps, according to deep decarbonization studies. That was evident in 2023 as large solar projects catapulted toward levels never seen before in the U.S. But there were…
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The Strange and Beautiful Science Of Our Lives
Brianne Kane: Have you ever thought about how strange everything is? Ha, no—but really, something happens in January, when it still feels like last year, but it’s suddenly this year, and it always makes me ask: What are we transitioning into? What have we transitioned from? I’m Bri Kane, a member of Scientific American’s editorial team and resident reader. Today…
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What’s Missing from the Emoji Animal Kingdom?
Ecologists and biologists commonly conduct surveys of the plants, fungi and animals in the environment they study. It’s less common, however, for that environment to be the virtual emojisphere. Emoji, the cutesy digital characters that have become their own mode of communication in text messages and online, are chock-full of representations of the natural world. Yet those representations are seriously…
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Science News Briefs from around the World: January 2024
January 1, 2024 2 min read Deciphering a scorched scroll from ancient Herculaneum, unlikely flavors in climate-change-affected wine, an undiscovered ore found in China, and more in this month’s Quick Hits By Lori Youmshajekian ANTARCTICA Ice-penetrating radar has revealed a landscape of valleys and ridges hidden under nearly two miles of ice in East Antarctica. Before the continent froze over…
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The Human Body Is Bags, Bags and More Bags
Your kidneys are like filters. Your brain is like a computer. Your digestive system is like a tube. Your hands are controlled a bit like a marionette. These comparisons exist in part because doctors and scientists are desperate to find ways to visualize our bodies, in search of aids to understanding—with the bonus that it’s not quite as visceral as…
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How to Escape a Time Loop You Don’t Really Want to Leave
January 1, 2024 4 min read A tender novel about savoring quantum memory By Amy Brady Credit: Chanelle Nibbelink FICTION A Quantum Love Story by Mike Chen MIRA, 2024 ($30) Time and grief are two inexorable companions in life, even when we are falling in love. It is truths like this one that set the scene for A Quantum Love…
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Sniffing Women’s Tears Makes Men Less Aggressive
December 21, 2023 4 min read For the first time, researchers have used behavioral measures, brain imaging and molecular biology to test how odorless chemicals from human tears affect people By Rachel Nuwer When someone starts to cry, other people oftentimes feel empathy and concern. But the biological reasons for shedding tears can extend beyond merely prompting a sense of…
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First Atlas of Every Mouse Brain Cell Could Improve Neuro Disease Treatments
December 18, 2023 3 min read Several research teams have created an atlas of the mouse brain. The map, which has more than 5,300 cell clusters, should help to improve the treatment of brain diseases By Karin Schlott How many different cell clusters are in the brain of a mouse? Where are they located, and what are their functions? A…
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