A legacy of discovery. A future of innovation.
“These particles are not simply melted debris. They are physical archives of the explosion.” - Luca Bindi, who discovered a never-before-seen material in the debris form the Hiroshima explosion
Bizarre new material discovered in Hiroshima bombing debrishe extreme conditions of atomic bomb explosions create “uncontrolled microexperiments” that, in Hiroshima, forged a never-before-seen metallic alloywww.scientificamerican.comThere are probably tens of thousands of undiscovered ancient earthworks known as geoglyphs in the Amazon, new imaging research shows. Click through to see photos.
Hundreds of never-before-seen ancient ‘earthworks’ discovered in the AmazonMany of these structures date to around C.E. 100–300, during the time of the Aquiry civilization, and may have been used for ceremonial purposeswww.scientificamerican.com
Now on @sciam.bsky.social: A spacecraft on a rescue mission to NASA's aging Swift space telescope is in trouble in Earth orbit. Can the mission—and Swift—be saved? www.scientificamerican.com/article/resc...
Rescue mission to save NASA’s Swift space telescope is imperiled in orbitA private spacecraft launched to boost the decaying orbit of NASA’s Swift Observatory is now suffering from potentially mission-ending malfunctionswww.scientificamerican.comDid you know that the flowers of avocado trees change sex every day? Scientists have noticed this nearly 100 years ago but only now do we how it works. Life is amazing.
Avocado flowers switch sex daily—now we know whyNew work explains how avocado trees coordinate a complex reproductive strategy, switching every day between male and femalewww.scientificamerican.comICYMI, this is the best story you're gonna find about the current status of the search for life on Mars, wrapped up inside a 50th-anniversary retrospective of NASA's epochal Viking missions. And it's only on @sciam.bsky.social.
Lee BillingsNow on @sciam.bsky.social: Has NASA already found life on Mars? A controversial new assessment of half-century-old data suggests the space agency’s life-hunting Mars lander Viking 1 found exactly what it was looking for. By @nadiadrake.bsky.social. www.scientificamerican.com/article/has-...
Now on @sciam.bsky.social: Astronomers just revealed the best-yet images of Betelgeuse's buddy, a ~3x-solar-mass companion star. By @adamjkovac.bsky.social. www.scientificamerican.com/article/scie...
Scientists get best-yet glimpse of Betelgeuse’s companion starAfter decades of hints and speculation, scientists have at last unveiled the hidden companion to the iconic star Betelgeusewww.scientificamerican.com
Even more books recommendations from @sciam.bsky.social this summer! Check out what's been in my beach bag this summer and use #SciAmBookBingo and #SciAmSummerReading to tell us what you've been reading! www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxyA...
Your summer reading list starts here | Science Quickly PodcastYouTube video by Scientific Americanwww.youtube.com
Now on @sciam.bsky.social: Has NASA already found life on Mars? A controversial new assessment of half-century-old data suggests the space agency’s life-hunting Mars lander Viking 1 found exactly what it was looking for. By @nadiadrake.bsky.social. www.scientificamerican.com/article/has-...
Has NASA already found life on Mars?In searches for past and present Martian life, some scientists say we’ve been too cautious to see what’s right in front of uswww.scientificamerican.comNow on @sciam.bsky.social: The Fields Medals—math's most prestigious prizes, often compared to the Nobels—have 4 new honorees, for work ranging from the theory of knots to the motion of fluids. Congrats to Hong Wang, Yu Deng, John Pardon & Jacob Tsimerman! www.scientificamerican.com/article/2026...
Math’s latest Fields Medalists are the most diverse group yetThe 2026 Fields Medals recognize breakthroughs in the math of messy fluids, tangled knots, spinning pencils, and morewww.scientificamerican.com
So... what *did* actually happen with the OpenAI attack on Hugging Face? With the help of able experts, I've delved into the detail in a way I've not really seen other outlets do for @sciam.bsky.social - and ask what's next www.scientificamerican.com/article/what...
What OpenAI’s rogue agent really did in the Hugging Face hackThe agent pursued its objective far beyond what researchers intended, revealing how difficult powerful AI systems can be to containwww.scientificamerican.comWhen is a moon not a moon? That’s the riddle raised by a new study, and the solution appears to be “when it’s a planet.” Or maybe the answer is vice versa. www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-hu...
A huge cosmic object could force astronomers to rethink what a moon isThis almost Jupiter-sized object is orbiting a brown dwarf, which, in turn, is circling around a small starwww.scientificamerican.com"The model wasn’t malicious it was just doing what it was optimized to do." www.scientificamerican.com/article/open...
OpenAI admits its agent went rogue, triggering a major hackThe incident underscores concerns over the increasingly powerful cybersecurity capabilities of new AI modelswww.scientificamerican.com
Just imagining a whale floating there and sighing. "Five minutes alone, that's all I ask."
Andrea ThompsonSo southern right whales are the only whales ever observed to flip over on their backs. It turns out it might be moms getting a break from the kids. I've never related to animal more. 🧪 Click through for some really cool drone footage. (by @gennarotomma.bsky.social for @sciam.bsky.social)
The best way to stop the destruction from wildfires is to spot them before they can grow out of control. It's also the most difficult.
Inside the race to spot wildfires before they spiral out of controlFinding wildfires before they explode in size could save countless lives each year. Decades of technology development may finally make that possiblewww.scientificamerican.comHave you seen Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' yet? Psychologists explain why the “hero’s journey” in the ancient Greek story can help people make meaning in their own lives. www.scientificamerican.com/article/psyc...
Psychology researchers know why The Odyssey transcends timeThe “hero’s journey” narrative structure seen in the ancient Greek story can help people make meaning in their own liveswww.scientificamerican.comDuration, location, aviation: What makes the best possible view of a total solar eclipse? @philplait.bsky.social takes a deep dive. www.scientificamerican.com/article/what...
Can there be a ‘best’ total solar eclipse?Duration, location, aviation: What makes the best possible view of a total solar eclipse?www.scientificamerican.com
We got exclusive access to some pretty cool camera trap photos of the elusive Sunda clouded leopard. They're helping scientists fill in some gaps in what we know about the "ghosts of the forest." 🧪 (by @dmain.bsky.social for @sciam.bsky.social) www.scientificamerican.com/article/see-...
