Laura Helmuth

Editor in Chief of Scientific American. Birder. Previously at Washington Post, National Geographic, Slate, Smithsonian & Science.

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laurahelmuth_at_mastodon.social@mostr.pub

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Last Notes

2024-09-04 19:16:33

Phoenix has had 100+ straight days of 100+ Fahrenheit days. Las Vegas broke records by “just about any metric you look at ... It’s been brutal.” https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/brutal-southwest-heat-wave-will-extend-streak-of-100-days-of-100-degrees-f/

2024-08-30 00:01:23

Steve Silberman had so much more to say. His NEUROTRIBES is one of the most important books of this century. We were honored to publish him as a columnist at Scientific American--he was so humane, generous, insightful
https://www.scientificamerican.com/author/steve-silberman/

2024-08-28 11:53:04

Scientific American is the oldest continuous publication in the U.S. and it's our birthday! We're 179 years old. Here's a gif showing how our logo has evolved from 1845 to today:
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/039/501/971/024/583/original/3e015b9d0b55c8f0.mp4

2024-08-19 18:29:18

A doctor / public health expert recommends these 5 (plus) items to include in a home First Aid kit https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/here-are-the-five-health-and-wellness-tools-everyone-needs-now/

2024-08-19 14:53:58

Don't panic, but something is wrong with dark energy. Two new surveys and an existing data set suggest that dark energy is weakening https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/dark-energy-measurements-suggest-the-universe-might-be-way-weirder-than-we/

2024-08-17 19:31:20

Sunspot activity is near its peak, and you can see some of the most impressive ones with the naked eye -- as long as your naked eye is protected with eclipse glasses or using other techniques. Here's how: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-to-see-sunspots-with-your-own-eyes/ by @npub1nt7…z00k

2024-08-16 18:11:57

Here's this week's fun multiple-choice science quiz, starting with: Why do hurricanes spin counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern? https://www.scientificamerican.com/game/science-quiz-2024-08-16/

2024-08-16 13:01:41

You might want to read this article about what makes people procrastinate while you put off all the other stuff you're supposed to do today
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-people-procrastinate-and-how-to-overcome-it/

2024-08-15 21:29:05

Tardigrades can enter a suspended state called cryptobiosis to survive extreme heat, cold, pressure or radiation. A new study of tardigrades preserved in amber suggests this ability evolved about 300 million years ago and let them survive the Permian extinction & isn't science fun?!?!?!?! https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/tardigrade-fossils-reveal-when-water-bears-became-indestructible/

2024-08-09 14:28:10

Pop quiz! Just for fun, not for a letter grade. We just started producing weekly science quizzes as part of a new games section at Scientific American & we're having a blast with them https://www.scientificamerican.com/game/science-quiz-2024-08-09/ and here's our games landing page: https://www.scientificamerican.com/games/

2024-08-08 00:13:14

“Google conducted a quality degradation study, which showed that it would not lose search revenue if [it] were to significantly reduce the quality of its search product"... a company that can make its product worse “without concern of losing consumers, is proof of monopoly power” https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-the-google-search-monopoly-ruling-means/

2024-08-07 17:17:38

Oh this is fascinating & fun: mathematicians have reinvented the wheel for higher dimensions. The gif at the end helps you visualize it https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mathematicians-reinvent-the-wheel-in-higher-dimensions-to-solve-decades-old/

2024-08-05 13:35:24

We have a new games section at Scientific American, featuring jigsaws, quizzes & spellements (spell all the words you can). If you find a word that ought to be allowed but isn't, especially a science-themed word, email games<at>sciam.com to get a shout-out in the newsletter (I just did for today's) https://www.scientificamerican.com/game/spellements-2024-08-05/

2024-08-02 20:57:51

Is the Paris Olympic pool slow? Quite possibly! Here's the math, why it's such a difficult problem, what's known so far & what might be known after the games https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-paris-olympic-swimming-pool-slow-lets-dive-into-the-math/

2024-08-02 18:57:04

Four-foot-long giant clams are sparkly inside & scientists just discovered that their iridescence is part of the most efficient solar panels ever known https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/most-efficient-solar-panels-ever-have-been-found-in-giant-sparkly-clams/

2024-08-02 18:40:38

Thunderstorms in the U.S. have caused $45 billion in damages ... in just the past six months https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/thunderstorms-have-caused-usd45-billion-in-damages-in-the-u-s-in-just-six/

2024-07-23 12:59:52

Trump’s mass deportation plan draws on the same pseudoscience and bigotry that built support for concentration camps in the 20th century. Crucial history from @npub1px4…yvdf https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/trumps-massive-deportation-plan-echoes-concentration-camp-history/

2024-07-22 19:00:04

This is fascinating and surprising: mineral deposits in the deep ocean can generate oxygen from seawater. It was such a weird finding that the scientists who first detected it thought for years that their instruments were wrong https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/dark-oxygen-discovered-coming-from-mineral-deposits-on-deep-seafloor/

2024-07-21 19:20:27

The Project 2025 plan for a second Trump term would sabotage science-based policies on climate change, the environment, abortion, health care access, technology and education & replace scientists with political appointees. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/project-2025-plan-for-trump-presidency-has-far-reaching-threats-to-science/

2024-07-19 16:47:26

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Project 2025 calls for transforming federal institutions into “hard targets” for “woke culture warriors.” It tears down policies to curb climate change, even though a majority of Americans endorse climate action. It advocates “a biblically based definition of marriage.”

2024-07-19 16:43:20

Project 2025 would sabotage science-based policies that address climate change, the environment, abortion, health care access, technology and education. It would impose religious and conservative ideology on the federal civil service. Read Scientific American's analysis of its threats: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/project-2025-plan-for-trump-presidency-has-far-reaching-threats-to-science/

2024-07-18 12:47:24

Accurate language is important. Generative AI isn't hallucinating. It's bullshitting. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/chatgpt-isnt-hallucinating-its-bullshitting/

2024-07-17 19:58:32

This research has come up several times at a big climate conference: A huge majority of people are worried about climate change and want governments to do more to control the crisis. BUT they think they are in a tiny minority and nobody else cares. Everybody (almost) cares! You are not alone https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/climate-change-actions-are-far-more-popular-than-people-in-u-s-realize/

2024-07-17 14:25:40

Summer is the new winter for COVID. Unlike flu, which peaks in winter only, COVID has a summer surge, and it's happening now. See graphics that show the pattern & best theories for why this virus spreads so well in summer https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/covid-rates-are-rising-again-why-does-sars-cov-2-spread-so-well-in-the/

2024-07-15 17:15:59

The alpha wolf is a myth, and a lone wolf is just dispersing from its family of origin to join a new group for breeding purposes https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-the-alpha-wolf-idea-a-myth/

2024-07-14 11:32:03

It's not much, but here's what the research shows about how to prevent or weaken conspiracy theories. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-can-you-fight-conspiracy-theories/

2024-07-10 12:39:16

The Supreme Court's conservative majority rejects science, history and reality itself. Editorial from Scientific American: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-supreme-courts-contempt-for-facts-is-a-betrayal-of-justice/

2024-07-02 19:49:42

A tragically common cause of death before pasteurization was food poisoning in children who were being weaned and starting to drink cow's milk. Pasteurization is one of the greatest public health successes in the history of the world, and now it's protecting us from H5N1 bird flu https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/pasteurization-kills-bird-flu-virus-in-milk-new-studies-confirm/

2024-07-01 20:31:32

Rapid intensification is defined as when a storm’s winds jump by at least 35 mph in 24 hours. Hurricane Beryl’s winds exploded by 63 mph in 24 hours. This hurricane is unprecedented in location and time of year and it's still growing https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-hurricane-beryl-underwent-unprecedented-rapid-intensification/

2024-06-26 12:57:52

There are “no links whatsoever between the offshore wind development activity and especially the humpback whale mortalities. None. Zero.” But oil & gas & shipping interests sure want you to think wind energy is what's killing whales https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/whales-are-dying-but-not-from-offshore-wind/

2024-06-25 23:21:41

There are a LOT of problems with what meatfluencers are selling, but a big one is the very idea that if our ancestors did it, we should do it. (They didn't eat only meat, but that's a different problem.) What are your favorite examples of ancestral experiences we're better off without? https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/to-follow-the-real-early-human-diet-eat-everything/

2024-06-25 20:26:16

This is an important and exciting job opening for the next director of SciLine, a service that connects scientists and journalists and aims to improve and expand evidence-based coverage of policy issues and everything else. https://diversifiedsearchgroup.com/search/21203-aaas-director-sciline/

2024-06-25 14:56:36

Meatfluencers claim their diets are what our ancestors ate. Only our ancestors didn't actually eat that way https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/to-follow-the-real-early-human-diet-eat-everything/

2024-06-24 16:56:03

Every debunking story has a process, and that process begins with a long sigh. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-a-study-on-ultraprocessed-fake-meat-and-heart-disease-really-found/

2024-06-24 15:20:22

If you're seeing the Bouba vs. Kiki meme, here's where that comes from https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/what-is-the-shape-of-this-word/

2024-06-24 12:49:14

"We talk about bodily autonomy with our children; we should also talk about emotional autonomy and how children can better understand and have agency over their own emotions." Let boys smile and girls be angry https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/there-are-no-such-things-as-gendered-emotions/

2024-06-20 19:12:31

The oldest deep-sea shipwreck was just discovered -- a Bronze Age ship filled with Canaanite storage jars. It's being excavated now from a mile deep https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/oldest-deep-sea-shipwreck-discovered-off-israel/

2024-06-20 18:21:50

"I analyzed data on cardiac incidents from 13 seasons of Doctor Who (2005 to 2023), pored over the cardiovascular literature on humans and other species, and consulted various experts in these and related fields ... for plausible answers to my questions about the Time Lord’s two hearts." https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/doctor-whos-time-lords-have-two-hearts-heres-how-their-dual-cardiac-system/

2024-06-20 13:54:18

Fun fun this is fun: Mathematicians shared their favorite equations -- the ones they think are most beautiful -- and then took photos of them on their chalkboards, notebooks, or drawn in the sand. Just lovely https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/these-are-the-most-beautiful-equations-in-mathematics/

2024-06-18 18:53:26

"What can we do about our 'Ignore more, care less, everything is fine!' era?"
This article is an urgent call from two scholars to stop normalizing horrible things, to not lower our standards, to not turn away from wicked problems https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/weve-hit-peak-denial-heres-why-we-cant-turn-away-from-reality/

2024-06-18 15:38:58

Today I learned that there are no limits on freight train length, and they can be miles long. A new study finds that long trains are more likely to derail than multiple short ones -- which is intuitive but has been hard to quantify. “We desperately need a law in this country to cap the length of a train” https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/longer-freight-trains-are-more-likely-to-derail/

2024-06-18 15:09:05

The "E" in STEM is often missing in K-12 education. Here's how adding engineering can improve kids' understanding of science and ability to solve problems https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/we-should-engineer-better-learning-in-our-schools/

2024-06-17 14:59:49

The moral panic over trans kids is a continuation of moral panics over comic books, video games, music lyrics & other grievance-driven nonsense that aims to control teenagers https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/anti-trans-moral-panics-endanger-all-young-people/

2024-06-14 19:52:43

Voyager 1 is back up & science-ing on all four remaining instruments for the first time in more than 6 months yay https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/voyager-1-is-back-nasa-spacecraft-safely-resumes-all-science-observations/

2024-06-13 21:07:56

What happens if a nuclear weapon goes off in space? Here's what we know from Starfish Prime and other tests from 60 years ago and why it would be even more catastrophic today https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-happens-if-a-nuclear-weapon-goes-off-in-space/ by @parshallison.bsky.social

2024-06-13 20:22:49

I love moments like this: “I was skeptical that it was anything special for a number of reasons. It just seemed too big and too bright.... But when we confirmed that it is, in fact, the new record holder, I just laughed. I had to walk down the hallway and look at the faces of the other scientists.” https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/jwst-detects-the-earliest-most-distant-galaxy-in-the-known-universe-and-its/

2024-06-11 12:20:12

Google's AI Overviews must create entirely new information in response to a search query. That costs an estimated *30 times* more energy than simply extracting information from a source through a traditional search. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-do-googles-ai-answers-cost-the-environment/

2024-06-11 11:42:30

Elephants call each other by name, and they respond to their own names. It's a type of communication previously undocumented in nonhuman animals https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/elephants-call-their-relatives-by-name-across-the-savanna/

2024-06-10 18:59:27

A magazine subscription makes a great Father's Day gift https://www.scientificamerican.com/getsciam/

2024-06-10 12:38:50

Research on news coverage of protests shows that journalists tend to follow a "protest paradigm" that is uninformative, distorted, biased toward official accounts and that limits the impact of protests. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/heres-why-protest-news-doesnt-tell-you-much/

2024-06-09 12:59:04

The foundational document of computer science is a series of endnotes written by Ada Lovelace https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ada-lovelaces-180-year-old-notes-previewed-the-future-of-computers/

2024-06-06 16:06:20

Why ARE bears friend-shaped? A beary scientific analysis of the meme "If not friend, why friend-shaped?" https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-are-bears-friend-shaped/

2024-06-04 16:54:13

Yes, of course, there absolutely IS science to support the advice to stand six feet or more away from people who might be infected with a deadly respiratory virus https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/marjorie-taylor-greenes-attacks-of-fauci-over-covids-six-foot-rule-not-based/ by @npub1n72…fdmx

2024-05-31 22:11:35

Fun: newfound fossils show that a hot spring spa kept trees alive during the last Ice Age https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fossils-from-an-ice-age-tree-spa-discovered/

2024-05-26 15:18:29

The t-test of statistical significance was invented by the head experimentalist at the Guinness brewery https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-the-guinness-brewery-invented-the-most-important-statistical-method-in/

2024-05-20 18:59:31

Strawberries have eight (8!) sets of chromosomes (we have two) & hybridize ridiculously easily & isn't evolution delicious? https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/strawberries-have-8-sets-of-chromosomes-to-thank-for-their-survival/

2024-05-18 11:37:42

Derelict satellites pass within 1,000 kilometers of each other 1,000 times a year, and any collision would instantly double the amount of space debris. A space rush is filling up orbit with unregulated satellites, mostly from private companies, and we need better protections https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/there-is-too-much-trash-in-space/

2024-05-16 12:33:16

Anthony Comstock was even worse than you might imagine. His soldier-of-Christ, misogynistic work to punish the fallen and blasphemous never really ended, and now it is having a horrifying revival https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-comstock-act-originated-with-disregard-for-womens-lives-it-still-does/

2024-05-14 18:01:31

Fun fun fun: Beluga whales have a lump on their forehead called a "melon" that they shake, wiggle, thrust and bump to communicate https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/belugas-flirt-and-fight-by-morphing-their-squishy-forehead/

2024-05-08 23:35:48

Does anybody have a good term to describe people you used to respect who turned out to be horrible? Like Steven Pinker, J.K. Rowling, Richard Dawkins. It's like a milkshake duck but more consequential and even more disappointing

2024-05-08 10:38:07

A giant balloon is going to float the HELIX mission to the stratosphere over Earth's poles to study antimatter and other cosmic rays & sometimes we can have nice things https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/meet-helix-the-high-altitude-balloon-that-may-solve-a-deep-cosmic-mystery/

2024-05-07 12:43:01

"In the battle over what 'aerosol' and 'airborne' meant, public health officials lost sight of what was right in front of them: people were catching COVID by breathing contaminated air." https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-fight-about-viruses-in-the-air-is-finally-over-now-its-time-for-healthy/ by @npub1zxf…v8x3

2024-05-06 14:49:00

We're looking to hire a marketing & customer service assistant for Scientific American. Thanks for sharing the job description with people who might be interested! https://careers.springernature.com/job/New-York-Marketing-&-Customer-Service-Assistant/1068566901/

2024-05-02 14:42:59

A scholar of social movements & activism explains how the campus protesters are doing everything right and repressive university administrations are doing everything wrong https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/repression-draws-attention-to-campus-protests-like-those-over-the-conflict/

2024-05-02 10:43:10

This poor guy had an active COVID infection for 612 days, during which time the virus developed 50 new mutations. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/longest-ever-covid-infection-lasted-more-than-600-days/

2024-04-24 13:39:47

During the Cold War, the USSR fed the US a bunch of bogus claims about psychic and paranormal weapons, which the US immediately laughed off. Just kidding the US spent millions of dollars and decades of effort on psychic spy work that culminated in Havana Syndrome panic https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/soviet-era-pseudoscience-lurks-behind-havana-syndrome-worries/

2024-04-19 17:23:55

We are hiring a podcast editor for Scientific American's multimedia team. (Sharing again because weekends are a good time to think about a new job). Thanks for considering or sharing with anyone looking to join a creative, welcoming, humane & fun team https://careers.springernature.com/job/New-York-Multimedia-Editor%2C-Audio%2C-Scientific-American/1058691801/

2024-04-17 12:54:43

"Earth is a fire planet, the only one we know of. Earth has fire because it has life. Life created the oxygen fire needs; life created and arranges the fuel it requires. Even the chemistry of fire is a biochemistry: fire takes apart what photosynthesis puts together." https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/we-are-living-in-the-pyrocene-at-our-peril/

2024-04-17 10:56:00

This one goes out to anybody who has ever picked up a feather and wondered how they work (short answer: they're amazing) https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-feathers-are-one-of-evolutions-cleverest-inventions/

2024-04-12 20:39:49

Physicists are finally figuring out how the strong force works https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/physicists-finally-know-how-the-strong-force-gets-its-strength/

2024-04-10 13:29:47

Scientific American is hiring a multimedia editor to work on our "Science, Quickly" podcast. Thanks for sharing with anyone who might be interested in the job! https://careers.springernature.com/job/New-York-Multimedia-Editor%2C-Audio%2C-Scientific-American/1058691801/

2024-04-09 15:54:54

Millions of pregnant people have received COVID vaccines, and the data are solid: the vaccines are safe and effective for the pregnant person, and a growing consensus is emerging that vaccination during pregnancy also protects newborns. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/covid-vaccination-during-pregnancy-protects-newborn-babies/

2024-04-09 15:02:41

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@npub1uw8…88kr ugh thank you -- typo!

2024-04-09 15:00:26

Just FYI while we're still talking about the sun: a solar geomagnetic storm like the 1959 Carrington Event superflare would devastate satellites and power grids and cause an internet apocalypse https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/solar-superflares-rocked-earth-less-than-10-000-years-ago-and-could-strike-again/

2024-04-09 00:38:39

Did you see a red dot during totality? That was a solar prominence -- a massive loop of the sun’s plasma attached to the visible surface of the sun, which can form within a day but last as long as several months https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/red-dots-around-total-solar-eclipse-explained/

2024-04-08 15:25:13

Pro tip: bring binoculars with you to watch the solar eclipse. NOT to look at the sun though them! But point the big end of the binoculars at the sun and the eyes end at the ground to project a sharp image of the crescent sun

2024-04-05 21:18:37

For anybody who was wondering: "People have also long studied any potential links between solar eclipses and earthquakes, but 'as far as I know, there’s no correlation there'” Here's what we DO know about the 4.8 earthquake in New Jersey this morning https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/earthquake-shakes-new-jersey-new-york-state-pennsylvania-and-more/

2024-04-04 12:49:37

Fascinating! Does anybody else have ticker-tape synesthesia? Some people see spoken words converted into text in their heads. This is a great description of the research & experience, which is like a mental closed captioning https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/my-synesthesia-transforms-speech-into-text-i-see-in-my-head/

2024-04-03 12:34:40

It's the year 2024 and West Virginia just signed a law that will allow the teaching of religious alternatives to science (meaning creationism) in public schools. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/new-law-allowing-religion-into-science-classrooms-is-dangerous-for-everyone/

2024-04-02 12:43:22

Walking backwards can improve flexibility, relieve joints, strengthen muscles, and improve your sense of humor about looking ridiculous https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/walking-backward-can-improve-joints-arthritis-and-overall-health/

2024-03-29 13:44:28

First results from OSIRIS-REx asteroid-return mission show that Bennu might be a hunk of planet that was wet, possibly tectonically active, full of organic material, and bathed in light from a star or stars that were destroyed before our solar system existed and may have seeded all of us https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/nasas-osiris-rex-asteroid-sample-is-already-rewriting-solar-system-history/

2024-03-28 14:45:23

This is going to be awesome: every 80 years, this faint star, which is devouring matter from a nearby red giant star, gets full enough to erupt in a bright, week-long hellfire. It could happen any day now! https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/this-nova-will-soon-erupt-as-a-once-in-a-lifetime-new-star-in-the-night-sky/

2024-03-28 13:10:00

So much ice is melting from the poles that the water is redistributing Earth's mass and slowing its rotation https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/global-warming-is-slowing-the-earths-rotation/

2024-03-28 12:03:58

I am looking forward to the podcast Uncertain by @cragcrest.bsky.social, a five-part series from Scientific American that "explores the surprisingly thrilling and deep ways that uncertainty shapes science." https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/uncertain-a-new-podcast-series-on-the-joys-of-not-knowing/

2024-03-27 13:35:21

A new genetic analysis of orcas in the Pacific Northwest shows there are two distinct species of killer whales — one relative docile and the other true, aggressive killers https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/orca-groups-with-radically-different-cultures-are-actually-separate-species/

2024-03-26 12:24:29

"If a time traveler left the U.S. in the summer of 2020, and returned today, they well might conclude they had accidentally gone back in time, so drastically different is today’s national conversation about racism." Great article by sociologist Abby Ferber, a scholar of white supremacy https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/attacks-on-diversity-in-higher-education-threaten-democracy/

2024-03-25 17:28:16

When approaching their nesting box, Japanese tits (Parus minor) flutter their wings at their mate to say "after you" & "no no no, after you" like a couple of adorable little Chip 'n' Dales https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/wild-birds-gesture-after-you-to-insist-their-mate-go-first/

2024-03-25 15:02:50

Wow oh wow oh wow an incredibly bright cyclical nova erupts every 80 years and looks like a new star -- and it's about to happen again https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/this-nova-will-soon-erupt-as-a-once-in-a-lifetime-new-star-in-the-night-sky/

2024-03-22 20:42:00

For anybody who has ever wondered what it would take to blow Earth to smithereens, here's the formula for that https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-much-energy-would-it-take-to-blow-the-earth-to-smithereens/

2024-03-22 13:23:32

wait what https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/earth-has-more-than-one-moon/ yet again @npub1nt7…z00k blew my mind

2024-03-20 15:07:42

Here's a gorgeous photo of a lenticular cloud lit up by a volcano https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/lava-lit-lenticular-cloud-crowns-volcano-in-spectacular-photo/

2024-03-19 20:41:37

Snakes grow quickly, can fast for months without losing much muscle, and as ectotherms don't need to use energy to stay warm. They could be an efficient & climate-friendly source of farmed protein https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/snake-steak-could-be-a-climate-friendly-source-of-protein

2024-03-19 13:52:42

"Do you really need yet another COVID-19 shot?
As a geriatrician who exclusively cares for people over 65 years of age, this is a question I’ve been asked many times over the past few years.
In early 2024, the short answer is yes."
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-people-aged-65-and-older-should-get-a-spring-covid-vaccine/

2024-03-19 13:03:36

Cicadas spray urine in high-speed streams stronger than the streams produced by many mammals. Basically, cicadas piss like a racehorse https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-cicadas-power-spray-their-pee/

2024-03-18 18:58:36

Remember the panic about "Havana Syndrome"? Diplomats and "diplomats" (spies) in Cuba developed dizziness, headaches, fatigue, etc. and the Trump State Department blamed supersecret sonic weapons. The latest & largest study shows it likely wasn't any kind of attack https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/people-with-havana-syndrome-show-no-brain-damage-or-medical-illness/

2024-03-13 14:54:07

For your Things That Used to Be Worse and Got Better files: Much of the Eastern U.S. was deforested in the 18th & 19th centuries. European settlers cut down every tree they could reach. Now forests have regrown and eased global warming https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/successful-reforestation-is-keeping-the-eastern-u-s-cooler/

2024-03-09 15:22:40

Residents of Königsberg asked Leonhard Euler to figure out whether it was possible to walk a path across all 7 city bridges only once. Euler dismissed the problem as banal and non-mathematical—but then got hooked and invented the math to solve it https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-the-seven-bridges-of-koenigsberg-spawned-new-math/

2024-03-08 14:27:58

It's important to understand just how serious some people in power are about personhood (the idea that a fertilized egg is a person every bit as much as we are) and how willing they are to enforce any and all implications of that belief system https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-arguments-that-embryos-are-people-pose-a-threat-to-ivf/

2024-03-04 13:53:44

This is a relief: researchers who test the tests confirm that COVID rapid home tests are sensitive to new variants. Please test whenever you feel even slightly sick or have been exposed to COVID. You can have it and transmit it without symptoms https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/covid-rapid-tests-reliably-detect-new-variants/

2024-03-01 23:59:34

An orca named Starboard grabbed a great white shark’s left fin and thrust forward with its mouth, eviscerating the shark. Several minutes later, Starboard swam a victory lap by a research vessel, holding a bloody piece of shark liver in his mouth. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/lone-orca-killed-great-white-shark-in-first-documented-case/