Scientific American

This week’s news roundup explores how the brain is affected by pregnancy, the way “scuba diving” lizards breathe underwater, and much more.

Certain values carry more weight in spring and autumn than in summer and winter

Scientists are putting a new spin on the creation of binary asteroids

Mathematics communicator and drag queen Kyne will help you discover the beauty and power of math in this miniseries.

Three scientists are honored for developing a class of blockbuster weight-loss drugs. Is a Nobel prize on the way?

A long-awaited calculation of the W boson’s mass agrees with theory, contradicting a previous anomaly that had raised the possibility of new physics beyond the Standard Model

In the U.S. in the early 1960s the distributor of a thalidomide drug was impatient to get it on the market. But FDA medical examiner Frances Oldham Kelsey wanted more information to prove its safety

Some researchers dream of solving all mysteries with a common method—but a mathematical paradox may keep such solutions out of reach

Math’s “best-choice problem” could help humans become better decision-makers, at everything from choosing the best job candidate to finding a romantic partner

In online forums the term “cuck” has become synonymous with “sucker” and “loser.” But this use distorts its history and meaning, creating a baseless moral panic that harms both women and science

The first two years of Russia’s war in Ukraine have produced 175 million tons of carbon dioxide

Breakdancing will hit the global stage at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, and this physicist is excited to break down the science

NASA’s venerable Voyager 1 spacecraft has resumed normal science operations with all four functioning instruments for the first time in more than six months

From hiking to barbecuing and gardening to swimming, the opportunities for summer fun can also pose health risks. Here’s how to stay safe this summer

New electric-powered, vertical-lift aircraft are rising to the challenge of delivering clean and cheap air taxi services

Massive blobs of sargassum seaweed are taking over Caribbean beaches. The seaweed explosion is fueled by pollution washing into the ocean from rivers in the Americas and Africa

A microbe can grow a neck that is 30 times as long as its body in just a few seconds. Origami folding explains how

The latest images from Euclid, a European mission studying dark matter and dark energy, are spectacularly beautiful—and scientifically promising

Researchers are investigating how an iron infusion from glacial meltwater might change Antarctica’s seas and the climate.

Historian and ecologist Laura J. Martin rediscovers the female scientists who established ecological restoration in her book Wild by Design