The May issue of Science News always feels special to me because it is distributed to the more than 1,600 high school students from around the world who compete in the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair, taking place May 9–15 in Phoenix. We also share Science News Explores, our sister magazine for curious younger readers, with the contestants and at Education Outreach Day. Science News Media Group editors will be there to talk science and science journalism with students and teachers from local middle and high schools.
The fair, which is produced by our parent nonprofit Society for Science, embraces the hard work that makes discoveries possible. As journalists, we most often cover science when there’s a big “aha!” moment. But the work leading up to that moment is just as important.
In this issue, we explore how mathematicians are embracing technology to assist in the arduous task of checking their work. Mathematicians are using computers to “formalize” proofs, freelance writer Stephen Ornes reports. Now, AI tools are pushing those efforts forward. The ultimate goal: create a digital library of all mathematics.
We also connect with linguists who create new languages never before spoken on Earth for blockbuster films like Avatar. Author J.R.R. Tolkien spent decades creating Elvish languages and scripts for The Lord of the Rings, and fans have learned them. That’s no small task. Even constructed languages, or conlangs, must follow rules of logic and syntax, Science News Explores assistant managing editor Maria Temming discovered. And scientists use conlangs to explore how the brain processes languages.
And though most of science happens outside of public view, the tools of that invisible toil can be magnificent. One of the world’s greatest collections of scientific specimens is stashed away in a specialized facility in suburban Maryland owned by the Smithsonian Institution. We’re not talking any old storage unit, unless yours happens to hold miles of shelving and the jaw bones of a blue whale. Scientists and curators at the National Museum of Natural History gave senior writer Meghan Rosen and freelance photographer Stephen Voss a sneak peek of a few of their favorites among the 148-million-item collection, and I’m delighted that we can share those with you.