Scientific American

Snow? Ice? How to make sense of winter storm forecasts A major winter storm will bring frigid cold and to tens of millions this weekend, but why is it so hard to pin down who will get snow, ice or rain?

Trying to figure out what the heck is going on with the snow storm forecasts? @andreatweather.bsky.social @sciam.bsky.social has you covered. www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-...

How zoos are preparing animals for winter storm Fern This weekend’s freezing temperatures and snow won’t just impact humans—zoo animals need to get ready for the storm, too

This weekend’s freezing temperatures and snow won’t just impact humans—zoo animals need to get ready for the storm, too

Loosening Radiation Rules Won’t Help Us Get Nuclear Power Any Faster Relaxing radiation safety standards could place women and children at higher risks of health issues

Relaxing radiation safety standards could place women and children at higher risks of health issues

Why Apple and OpenAI are reportedly betting on AI hardware in 2026 Tech giants are betting that we are finally ready to invite a persistent digital device into our lives

Tech giants are betting that we are finally ready to invite a persistent digital device into our lives

Heal your injuries faster using motion as the new potion Motion is the new potion, and rest is no longer the best

Motion is the new potion, and rest is no longer the best

Snow? Ice? How to make sense of winter storm forecasts A major winter storm will bring frigid cold and to tens of millions this weekend, but why is it so hard to pin down who will get snow, ice or rain?

A major winter storm will bring frigid cold and to tens of millions this weekend, but why is it so hard to pin down who will get snow, ice or rain?

www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-...

From anxious Weimaraners to aggressive Chihuahuas—what science can tell us about dog breeds A large dataset shows some dog stereotypes are based in reality, and others might be unfair characterizations

Some dog stereotypes are based in reality, and others might be unfair characterizations. Paw through what the data shows here

The Helix Nebula looks like the ‘Eye of God’ in these spectacular new JWST images A fresh look at the Helix Nebula captures new details of the cycle of stellar life and death

Get lost in JWST's simply sunning new image of the Helix Nebula (there's a video, too!)

The scientific quest to explore the hidden complexity of ice Ice has many forms beyond the mundane stuff produced in a standard freezer

“Water is a beautiful, elegant system that consistently shows new, remarkable behavior,” a physical chemist said. “For something so simple, it has beautiful complexity.”

The biggest explosions in the universe, ranked From planet-scorching stellar outbursts to cataclysms so powerful they shiver the very fabric of spacetime, these are some of the biggest blasts our cosmos has to offer

These are the best bangs since the big one.

www.scientificamerican.com/article/what...

🔭 🧪

This is the most complete skeleton yet of our ancestor Homo habilis A partial skeleton dating back more than two million years is the most complete yet of Homo habilis, one of the earliest known species in our genus

A partial skeleton dating back more than two million years is the most complete yet of Homo habilis, one of the earliest known species in our genus

Greenland has enormous mineral wealth—accessing it is another story Greenland’s mineral resources hold massive economic potential, but accessing them isn’t easy

Greenland’s mineral resources hold massive economic potential, but accessing them isn’t easy

Dolphins age more slowly with a little help from their friends A study of dolphins’ epigenetic ages found that animals with more high-quality friendships were biologically younger than their lonely peers

A study of dolphins’ epigenetic ages found that animals with more high-quality friendships were biologically younger than their lonely peers

The biggest explosions in the universe, ranked From planet-scorching stellar outbursts to cataclysms so powerful they shiver the very fabric of spacetime, these are some of the biggest blasts our cosmos has to offer

From planet-scorching stellar outbursts to cataclysms so powerful they shiver the very fabric of spacetime, these are some of the biggest blasts our cosmos has to offer

The search for Leonardo da Vinci’s DNA—how modern forensic science is trying to crack a 500-year-old puzzle Researchers are using cutting‑edge DNA techniques to hunt for genetic evidence in centuries‑old artworks in an effort to better understand the genius of Leonardo da Vinci

Today on the pod, researchers are using cutting‑edge DNA techniques to hunt for genetic evidence in centuries‑old artworks in an effort to better understand the genius of Leonardo da Vinci

Colon cancer is killing more young people in the U.S. than any other cancer Fewer people under age 50 are dying from cancer in the U.S., but colorectal cancer mortality rates continue to surge

Fewer people under age 50 are dying from cancer in the U.S., but colorectal cancer mortality rates continue to surge

Personalized Cancer Vaccines Are Almost Here—But Federal Funding Cuts Could Derail Them Vaccines based on mRNA can be tailored to target a cancer patient’s unique tumor mutations. But crumbling support for cancer and mRNA vaccine research has endangered this promising therapy

Personalized vaccines against cancer, made with mRNA technology, are showing promising results even five years after treatment. Go deep with our recent feature on what might come next for the technique

Parents who had this many kids aged more slowly, study finds A new study found that women in Finland who had a lot of kids—or none—aged faster than those with one or a few kids. But the findings don’t necessarily translate to today’s parents

Women who had more than 5+ children or no children aged more quickly than those with 1-4 children, a study of twins in Finland found, supporting a theory about the tradeoffs of reproduction. By @krcallaway.bsky.social for @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/pare...

RFK, Jr.’s assertion that his voice condition is linked to the flu shot is not based in science, experts say The U.S. secretary of health and human services told USA Today that he believed the flu jab was a “potential culprit” for his spasmodic dysphonia that he could not “rule out”

“We do not have any known linkage between flu vaccine and voice disorders like this,” says the medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases about new claims from RFK, Jr.

NIH ends fetal tissue research The move is “clearly a political decision not a scientific one,” one expert said

NIH ends fetal tissue research

The move is “clearly a political decision not a scientific one,” one expert said

www.scientificamerican.com/article/nih-...

Parents who had this many kids aged more slowly, study finds A new study found that women in Finland who had a lot of kids—or none—aged faster than those with one or a few kids. But the findings don’t necessarily translate to today’s parents

A new study found that women in Finland who had a lot of kids—or none—aged faster than those with one or a few kids. But the findings don’t necessarily translate to today’s parents

The bacterium behind syphilis has a far more ancient history than we thought Treponema pallidum, a microorganism that can cause a deadly sexually transmitted disease in humans, may have a far more ancient lineage than scientists once thought

My first ever article for @sciam.bsky.social breaking syphilis news!!! www.scientificamerican.com/article/anci...

Sonic booms can protect Earth from dangerous space junk Scientists are using technology developed to study earthquakes to address an out-of-this-world risk

Now on @sciam.bsky.social: Seismic networks meant to monitor earthquakes can also help track dangerous space debris as it falls to Earth. Very cool work, using the uncontrolled reentry of debris from China's Shenzhou-15 mission as a test case.

www.scientificamerican.com/article/soni...

‘Bat accelerator’ unlocks new clues to how these animals navigate Bats use echolocation to get around, but it wasn’t clear how these creatures managed to navigate dense environments—until now

Bats use echolocation to get around, but it wasn’t clear how these creatures managed to navigate dense environments—until now

Towering Prototaxites ruled Earth before trees—and they may have been a form of life entirely new to science. Recent research argues that the ancient organism doesn’t fit into our existing taxonomic h... TikTok video by Scientific American

You can also enjoy the TikTok version of this story here: www.tiktok.com/@scientifica...

The Helix Nebula looks like the ‘Eye of God’ in these spectacular new JWST images A fresh look at the Helix Nebula captures new details of the cycle of stellar life and death

A fresh look at the Helix Nebula captures new details of the cycle of stellar life and death

Mystery tower fossils may be a whole new kind of life Towering Prototaxites ruled Earth before trees—and they may have been a form of life entirely new to science

Meet the mysterious Prototaxites: “No matter what...it’s something weird doing its own thing,” one scientist says of the fossil

This handprint is the oldest known cave art Beating the previous record for the oldest known cave artwork by at least 15,000 years, a hand stencil in an Indonesian cave might shed light on when early humans migrated to Australia

Beating the previous record for the oldest known cave artwork by at least 15,000 years, a hand stencil in an Indonesian cave might shed light on when early humans migrated to Australia

For deer, the forest might actually glow Deer antler rubs and hoof scrapes change how parts of the forest reflect short-wavelength light, perhaps leaving a glowing signal

Deer antler rubs and hoof scrapes change how parts of the forest reflect short-wavelength light, perhaps leaving a glowing signal

Watch three solar prominences erupt in epic video A European spacecraft caught rare footage of three successive prominences popping off the sun

A European spacecraft caught rare footage of three successive prominences popping off the sun