How Unhealthy Are Ultra-Processed Foods?
Processed foods have been blamed for many health problems, but dietary research is tricky and nuanced
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-unhealthy-are-ultra-processed-foods/
A Long-Awaited Climate Experiment Is Poised to Launch in the Amazon. What Will It Find?
Ahead of a project to spray carbon dioxide into jungle plots, researchers contemplate what its results might signal about the forest’s future.
Elizabeth Bates and the Search for the Roots of Human Language
In the 1970s a young psychologist challenged a popular theory of how we acquire language, launching a fierce debate that continues to this day
How Temperate Forests Could Help Limit Climate Change
People understand how saving tropical forests is good for the planet, but temperate forests are equally indispensable in fighting climate change
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-temperate-forests-could-help-limit-climate-change/
An Indigenous Archeologist’s Journey to Find the Lost Children of the Residential Schools
How “heart-centered” archeology is helping to find the Indigenous children who never came home from residential schools
Extrovert or Introvert: Most People Are Actually Ambiverts
Research on personality types in the middle of the extroversion-introversion scale is limited—yet the majority of people fall into this category
How Sugar Gliders Got Their Wings
Several marsupial species, including sugar gliders, independently evolved a way to make membranes that allow them to glide through the air
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-sugar-gliders-got-their-wings/
New Geothermal Technology Could Expand Clean Power Generation
Long confined to regions with volcanic activity, geothermal promises to become a much more versatile energy source thanks to new technologies
Glow-in-the-Dark Animals May Have Been Around for 540 Million Years
Ancestors of so-called “soft” corals may have developed bioluminescence in the earliest days of deep-ocean living
New Interactive Map Shows Where Extreme Heat Threatens Health
People in the U.S. will be able to see where extreme heat is a threat to health with a new interactive tool created by the National Weather Service and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
An Epitaph for Daniel Dennett, Philosopher of Consciousness
Is consciousness nothing more than an illusion? That idea defined the work of Daniel Dennett (1942–2024)
Is There a Human Hiding behind That Robot or AI?
When human labor is hidden under the veneer of a robot or AI tool, that’s “fauxtomation”
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-there-a-human-hiding-behind-that-robot-or-ai/
After Months of Gibberish, Voyager 1 Is Communicating Well Again
NASA scientists spent months coaxing the 46-year-old Voyager 1 spacecraft back into healthy communication
Biden Kicks Off Earth Week with Solar Funding, Expanding Climate Corps
The Biden administration is marking Earth Week with announcements of solar power funding for lower-income communities, an expansion of the Climate Corps and Clean Air Act rules
Quantum Computers Can Run Powerful AI That Works like the Brain
The influential AI design that makes chatbots tick now runs on quantum computers
: Experimental Ovarian Cryopreservation Could Delay Menopause, but Experts Are Weighing the Risks
Extracting, freezing and retransplanting slices of hormone-producing ovarian tissue could postpone menopause, but some experts say it’s not effective enough—or necessary
The U.S. Spends a Fortune on Beach Sand That Storms Just Wash Away
The U.S. is paying hundreds of millions of dollars to replenish storm-ravaged beaches in a losing battle against rising seas and erosion
The U.S. Spends a Fortune on Beach Sand That Storms Just Wash Away
The U.S. is paying hundreds of millions of dollars to replenish storm-ravaged beaches in a losing battle against rising seas and erosion
New Minecraft ‘Heat Dragon’ Quest Has Gamers Fight Climate Villain
A new video game puts climate solution tools in the hands of up to 80 million Minecraft players
Sorry, Little Green Men: Alien Life Might Actually Be Purple
Purple may be a likely color for extraterrestrial organisms, research suggests