News

Poor Pluto Is Ten Times Smaller than Thought

Originally published in July 1950 Credit: Scientific AmericanAdvertisement “The outermost planet of the solar system has a mass 10 times…

5 years ago

Little Evidence that Mass Transit Poses a Risk of Coronavirus Outbreaks

In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ben Fried made a difficult decision: He stopped riding New York City’s…

5 years ago

Why Doctors Are Posing in Swimwear on Social Media

Beginning on July 23, physicians all over the world took to social media to post pictures of themselves in bikinis,…

5 years ago

When the First Farmers Arrived in Europe, Inequality Evolved

Scientific American July 2020Forests gave way to fields, pushing hunter-gatherers to the margins—geographically and sociallyEight thousand years ago small bands…

5 years ago

Picturing God as a White Man Is Linked to Racial Stereotypes about Leaders

Nationwide protests against racial injustice have shone a spotlight on U.S. corporations’ lack of diversity. Despite decades of initiatives to…

5 years ago

The Brittle Star That Sees with its Body

The long, squiggly arms of a brittle star—a relative of the sea star with baroque tendencies—have a surprising relationship with…

5 years ago

An Immune Protein Could Prevent Severe COVID-19–if It Is Given at the Right Time

When the immune system fights viruses, timing is key. And this maxim may be especially true for its defense against…

5 years ago

In Bee Shortage Bubbles Could Help Pollinate

Bees are a big part of the life cycle of plants, carrying pollen from one flower to another and allowing…

5 years ago

Seismologists Find the World Quieted Down during Pandemic Lockdowns

Humans are a really noisy species: hammering and digging, flying and driving, delivering heavy cargo all over the world. And…

5 years ago

Search for a Cleaner Jet Fuel Leads to Sewage Plants

The Department of Energy is taking a fresh look at a tough research problem that has baffled experts for more…

5 years ago