Life
A new book chronicles the science of life in the air
Carl Zimmer’s Air-Borne recounts centuries of aerobiology’s greatest moments and mistakes.
Current Issue
Featured Articles in this Issue
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Cover Story
Survivors of the LA fires will face a complex blend of mental health challenges
Logistical needs, like employment and housing, along with psychological needs must be met after disasters like the LA wildfires, research shows.
Reviews & Previews
Science Visualized
Archaeology
Ancient, engraved stones may have been buried to summon the sun
Members of a Stone Age culture in Denmark may have ritually buried stones to counter the effects of a volcanic eruption.
The Health Checkup
Health & Medicine
Can probiotics actually curb sugar cravings?
Some companies claim that taking beneficial bacteria can reduce the desire for sugar. But the evidence comes from mice, not people.
Features
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How a puffin patrol in Iceland is saving the iconic seabirds
Light pollution disorients young puffins. The Puffling Patrol helps them find their way to the sea.
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More brainlike computers could change AI for the better
New brain-inspired hardware, architectures and algorithms could lead to more efficient, more capable forms of AI.
More Stories from the March 1, 2025 issue
- Tech
Robots are gaining new capabilities thanks to plants and fungi
Biohybrid robots made with plant and fungal tissue are more sensitive to their surroundings.
- Neuroscience
The unique neural wiring of the human hippocampus may maximize memory
Living tissue from the memory centers of people’s brains reveals sparse nerve cell connections that provide strong, reliable signaling between cells.
- Planetary Science
A crumbling exoplanet spills its guts
Astronomers have determined the internal composition of a distant, disintegrating planet for the first time.
- Earth
Ancient rocks reveal when rivers began pouring nutrients into the sea
Rivers began pumping weathered material into the sea about a billion years after Earth formed, suggesting continents may have gotten an early start.
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Megadroughts are on the rise worldwide
One of the most extreme megadroughts has helped fuel wildfires in Los Angeles County and elsewhere in California.
- Earth
Ghostly white northern lights present new auroral mystery
These mysterious whitish-gray glows in the northern lights might be cousins of the mauve light streak known as STEVE.
- Astronomy
A cosmic ‘Platypus’ might link two astronomical mysteries
A flash of light called the Platypus has hallmarks of a mid-sized black hole shredding a star and a type of burst thought to be a stellar explosion.
- Particle Physics
Cosmic rays could help reveal how tornadoes form
Subatomic particles called muons could measure pressure changes in supercell thunderstorms and the twisters they kick up.
- Physics
Hula-hooping robots reveal the physics behind keeping rings aloft
The gyrations of hoop-slinging robots reveal that hourglass-shaped objects are best at keeping a hoop in the air.
- Animals
Mole or marsupial? This subterranean critter with a backward pouch is both
Genetic analyses have solved the riddle of where a marsupial mole fits on the tree of life: It’s a cousin to bilbies, bandicoots and Tasmanian devils.
- Animals
Velvet ants have the Swiss Army knife of venoms
A velvet ant bite like “hot oil from the deep fryer” delivers an array of peptides that inflicts pain on insects and mammals alike.
- Paleontology
A mysteriously large pterosaur finally has an identity
A Jurassic pterosaur fossil, known to paleontologists for over 160 years, isn’t a new species. It is an odd specimen of Rhamphorhynchus muensteri.
- Genetics
Iron Age Celtic women’s social and political power just got a boost
Ancient DNA indicates women stayed in their home communities and married partners from outside the area.
- Ecosystems
Like flyways for birds, we need to map swimways for fish
Mapping fish migration routes and identifying threats is crucial to protecting freshwater species and their habitats, ecologists argue.
- Health & Medicine
Obesity needs a new definition beyond BMI, health experts argue
Experts say clinical obesity is more than a high BMI and instead is a disease in which excess body fat harms tissues, organs or doing daily activities.
- Neuroscience
How people suppress memories may be key to PTSD recovery
People who recovered from PTSD changed the way their brains handle intrusive thoughts, a study of survivors of the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks shows.
- Health & Medicine
U.S. dementia cases may rise to 1 million per year by 2060
Baby Boomers may drive a drastic increase in dementia cases in coming decades, but there are steps people can take to reduce their risk.
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