Life
A new book explores the evolutionary romance between plants and animals
Riley Black’s new book, When the Earth was Green, uses the latest research to envision the ancient worlds of our favorite prehistoric animals.
Current Issue
Featured Articles in this Issue
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Cover Story
Can geoengineering plans save glaciers and slow sea level rise?
As climate change melts West Antarctica’s glaciers, scientists are proposing bold ideas to avoid devastating sea level rise. Will they work?
Reviews & Previews
Science Visualized
Animals
This bird’s eye view of a shark hunt won a photo contest
A snapshot of blacktip reef sharks hunting hardyhead silverside fish won the 2024 Royal Society Publishing Photography Competition.
The Health Checkup
Health & Medicine
Sleeping pills may have unexpected effects on the snoozing brain
As scientists unravel how sleep benefits the body, a study in mice is highlighting the potential pitfalls of using Ambien and other sleep aids.
More Stories from the February 1, 2025 issue
- Health & Medicine
Can you actually die of a broken heart?
Death by heartbreak doesn't just happen in stories. In real life, severe stress can cause the sometimes-fatal takotsubo syndrome.
- Animals
Ethiopian wolves are the first large carnivores found to slurp nectar
Wolves from three different packs were seen licking red hot poker flowers. That sweet tooth could make them the first known large predator pollinators.
- Planetary Science
NASA’s Perseverance rover found a new potential setting for Martian life
Now atop Jezero Crater, the robotic explorer found quartz indicative of habitable environments and possibly the oldest rocks yet seen in the solar system.
- Earth
Scientists predict an undersea volcano eruption near Oregon in 2025
Real-time data from Axial Seamount off the Oregon coast is providing researchers with a good eruption forecasting test.
- Health & Medicine
Lethal snake venom may be countered by new AI-designed proteins
The current way to produce antivenoms is antiquated. Experiments in mice suggest that an artificial intelligence approach could save time and money.
- Anthropology
Humans have linked emotions to the same body parts for 3,000 years
3,000-year-old clay tablets show that some associations between emotion and parts of the body have remained the same for millennia.
- Paleontology
Humans, not climate change, may have wiped out Australia’s giant kangaroos
About 40,000 years ago, giant kangaroos vanished Down Under. Dental analyses suggest a varied diet, meaning climate change was not the main cause.
- Life
The ‘Blob,’ an unprecedented marine heat wave, killed 4 million seabirds
Millions of other animals may have perished too, suggesting the die-off event might be one of the worst in modern times.
- Health & Medicine
Is alcohol linked to cancer? Here’s what the science says
A new U.S. Surgeon General's report describes the link between drinking alcohol and developing cancer. Many Americans aren’t aware of the risk.
- Health & Medicine
The spread of breast cancer may be inherited
A variant of PCSK9, a gene involved in raising cholesterol, may spur metastasis. An approved antibody might stop it.
- Neuroscience
Electronic ‘tattoos’ offer an alternative to electrodes for brain monitoring
A standard EEG test requires electrodes that come with pitfalls. A spray-on ink, capable of carrying electrical signals, avoids some of those.
- Space
A spacecraft duo will fly in formation to create artificial solar eclipses
ESA’s Proba-3 mission will use one satellite to block out the sun for another satellite, bringing the sun’s middle corona into new focus.
- Plants
Meet a scientist tracking cactus poaching in the Atacama Desert
Botanist Pablo Guerrero has been visiting Atacama cacti all his life. They’re not adapting well to a drier climate, booming mining and plant collection.
- Earth
Earth’s inner core may be changing shape
Earthquake data suggest that all or small patches of the inner core's surface may be swelling and contracting.
- Materials Science
Starchy nanofibers shatter the record for world’s thinnest pasta
The fibers, made from white flour and formic acid, average just 372 nanometers in diameter and might find use in biodegradable bandages.
- Particle Physics
Scientists are building underwater neutrino telescopes in the Mediterranean
The KM3NeT telescopes, currently under construction, will catch high-energy neutrinos that could reveal secrets of the cosmos.
- Animals
Poop is on the menu for a surprising number of animals
A new tally finds dozens of species giving food a second go-round, from babies boosting their microbiomes to adults seeking easier-to-access nutrition.
- Genetics
Neandertal genes in people today came from hook-ups around 47,000 years ago
Most present-day humans carry a small amount of Neandertal DNA that can be traced back to a single period of interbreeding, two genetic analyses find.
- Archaeology
The oldest known ritual chamber in the Middle East has been found
Engravings and other evidence suggest ancient humans attended religious ceremonies in the cave as early as 37,000 years ago.
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Math puzzle: Imagine there’s no zero
Solve the math puzzle from our February 2025 issue, based on the number system of mathematician James Foster.
