Neuroscience
‘Do I Know You?’ explores face blindness and the science of the mind
In her memoir, journalist Sadie Dingfelder draws on her own experiences to highlight the astonishing diversity of people’s inner lives.
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Cover Story
Does social status shape height?
A controversial idea drawing on findings from the animal kingdom suggests there’s more to human stature than genetics and nutrition.
Reviews & Previews
Science Visualized
Space
Here’s how predictions of the sun’s corona during the 2024 eclipse fared
Models from Predictive Science Inc. forecasted the appearance of the sun’s corona during the April eclipse to better understand our star.
Notebook
Space
Forget moon walking. Scientists want to give moon running a try
Researchers took over an amusement park attraction to test out an idea for how astronauts might exercise on the moon.
Features
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How powdered rock could help slow climate change
A method called enhanced rock weathering shows promise at capturing carbon dioxide from the air. But verifying the carbon removal is a challenge.
More Stories from the June 29, 2024 issue
- Health & Medicine
AI could take medical imaging to the next level
Artificial intelligence in medical imaging is taking off. Experts share what they see as the promise — and potential pitfalls — of AI technology.
- Animals
Sumatran orangutans start crafting their engineering skills as infants
By 6 months old, young orangutans are experimenting with construction materials, and by 6 years old, they are building platforms 20 meters in the air.
- Health & Medicine
Young people’s use of diabetes and weight loss drugs is up 600 percent
Young people’s use of diabetes and weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy is surging, especially among females ages 18 to 25.
- Health & Medicine
Bird flu can infect cats. What does that mean for their people?
Pet owners can take precautions to avoid H5N1, such as keeping cats indoors and making sure they don’t eat raw meat or milk.
- Planetary Science
Venus might be as volcanically active as Earth
Data from NASA’s Magellan spacecraft suggest that volcanic activity is widespread on Venus.
- Health & Medicine
Privacy remains an issue with several women’s health apps
Inconsistent privacy policies and dodgy data collection in popular fertility and pregnancy tracking apps put women’s health information at risk.
- Earth
Freshwater first appeared on Earth 4 billion years ago, ancient crystals hint
Oxygen ratios in ancient zircon crystals suggest that the planet’s water cycle got started hundreds of millions of years earlier than thought.
- Space
China’s Chang’e-6 snagged the first samples from the farside of the moon
The samples, which will be returned to Earth in late June, could help researchers figure out why the moon’s two sides are so starkly different.
- Particle Physics
Scientists propose a hunt for never-before-seen ‘tauonium’ atoms
Made of heavy relatives of the electron, the exotic atoms could be used to test the theory of quantum electrodynamics.
- Climate
Warm water is sneaking underneath the Thwaites Glacier — and rapidly melting it
The salty water, just 3.6 degrees Celsius above the ice’s melting point, is undermining the foundation of the Antarctic glacier.
- Earth
In 2018, Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano erupted like a stomp rocket
The stomp rocket–like mechanism is a newly observed type of eruption.
- Climate
In ‘Warming Up,’ the sports world’s newest opponent is climate change
In her debut book, Madeleine Orr presents an authoritative account of climate change’s impact on sports, and how the industry can fight back.
- Agriculture
50 years ago, scientists ID’d a threat to California wine country
Fifty years after scientists identified the cause of Pierce's disease, which damages vineyards, there still isn't a cure.
