Deaths or excessive damage put Katrina, Maria, Harvey and other monikers out of circulation Credit: Will Chase Advertisement Since 1950, when a formal naming process began, the monikers of 89 northeastern Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico hurricanes have been retired because of the deaths or excessive financial damage they caused. A list of 21 […]
The items below are highlights from the free newsletter, “Smart, useful, science stuff about COVID-19.” To receive newsletter issues daily in your inbox, sign up here. Please consider a monthly contribution to support this newsletter. The New York Times is routinely updating a graphic resource for readers, “Is your state doing enough coronavirus testing?” The […]
In 1922 Scientific American announced a high-stakes international contest to find scientific proof of ghosts. The competition offered $5,000,and it pitted top scientists of the day against wildly popular psychic mediums. The contest also escalated a growing feud between two famous friends: renowned magician and escape artist Harry Houdini and Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan […]
Editor’s Note (8/21/20): Tropical Depression 13 has now strengthened and become Tropical Storm Laura. Peak Atlantic hurricane season began yesterday. The greatest number of storms—especially major storms—typically form between Aug. 20 and Oct. 10. But the start of the busy season is a bit more troubling than usual this year. The early part of the […]
Beau Bassin–Rose Hill, Mauritius—Nearly two weeks after the Japanese-owned, Panamanian-flagged ship MV Wakashio ran aground off the coast of Mauritius late last month—immediately destroying more than 600 yards of fragile coral reefs—the bulk carrier began leaking oil into the pristine blue lagoons of the Indian Ocean island. The spill threatened to do much greater damage […]
Scientific American September 2020 In the 1960s Martin Gardner helped to turn the artist M. C. Escher into a sensation Between 1957 and 1986 Martin Gardner wrote the Mathematical Games column for this magazine, with a total of 297 installments. During that time he became the world’s most prolific and best-known popularizer of recreational mathematics. […]
On April 1, 1950, the New York Times carried a sensational front-page headline, “U.S. Censors H-Bomb Data; 3,000 Magazine Copies Burnt.” The story’s lead sentence read: “Gerard Piel, editor of the Scientific American, attacked the censorship policies of the Atomic Energy Commission yesterday when he disclosed ….” The article went on to report that the […]
It’s easy to see why people don’t love the idea of virtual conferences. Sitting for hours behind a computer screen, listening to a floating head, isn’t exactly a thrilling prospect. You don’t get to bask in the exotic setting of a tropical island or other international location. And virtual conferences don’t allow researchers to retreat […]
During a 2016 solar eclipse, a team led by researchers at Sweden’s Lund University projected a beam of infrared laser light into the darkened Tanzanian sky to measure how insects responded to the unusual twilight. Afterward, the group continued monitoring for another five nights and four days. The laser-based system used, known as lidar, detected […]
Special Report Special Report A graphical tour of popular words paired with key moments in the history of the magazine Arts & Culture How the words we use have evolved over the past 175 years September 1, 2020 — Moritz Stefaner, Lorraine Daston and Jen Christiansen Arts & Culture Search a 4,000-word database to see […]