Science & Society
Lost in Curiosity reveals the messy reality of doing science
In her new book, science journalist Roberta Kwok takes readers behind the scenes to understand how researchers get nature to give up its secrets.
Featured Articles in this Issue
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Cover Story
Many universities hold seized human remains. What should they do with them?
Biological anthropologist Fatimah Jackson is leading an effort to prevent history from repeating.
Reviews & Previews
Science Visualized
Astronomy
Even quiet black holes create winds, new Milky Way observations reveal
New observations suggest the supermassive black hole at the Milky Way’s core is blowing gas away from the central behemoth.
Technically Fiction
Artificial Intelligence
AI is not ready to fly solo in space
In sci-fi, AI can navigate the unknowns and — ideally — keep human travelers safe. But it’s not intelligent enough to do that yet.
More Stories from the August 1, 2026 issue
- Science & Society
Remote workers feel isolated. Back-to-office mandates are not a fix
Making social connection part of job design, whether people work remotely, hybrid or in-person, is key to supporting employees‘ well-being.
- Health & Medicine
A popular sunscreen ingredient can finally be sold in the United States
The FDA will allow bemotrizinol in sunscreen. The chemical is long-lasting and defends against solar radiation that ages skin.
- Health & Medicine
A new pancreatic cancer pill may be a game changer for patients
Daraxonrasib, which nearly doubled patients' survival time, fights the disease in a new way. It bear-hugs a cancer protein that drives cell growth.
- Physics
Physics explains why gold stays pristine
Metals like copper oxidize — reacting with oxygen in the air — but gold doesn’t, thanks to a quick switch in atom arrangement on its surface.
- Math
AI cracked an Erdős math problem. Now experts want guardrails
The result is correct but challenges core norms of mathematics: checking proofs, crediting ideas and keeping research open to everyone.
- Animals
How honeybees’ royal jelly might be baby glue, too
A last-minute pH shift thickens royal jelly enough to stick queen larvae to the ceiling of hive cells.
- Climate
Grapefruit-sized hail may become more common in a warmer world
A global model suggests that climate change could make hailstones larger and more damaging in many regions, especially at mid-to-high latitudes.
- Math
The math of choosing a restaurant meal is revealed in Richard Feynman’s notes
Physicist Richard Feynman turned a lunch dilemma into a math problem. Researchers finally cracked his notes and found people approximate his solution on their own.
- Psychology
Neuroscientists left the lab to study memory loss. The results were surprising
Using smartphone-based tools, researchers find that older adults’ recollections of past events may remain more intact than previously thought.
- Physics
Here’s what would happen if you tried to break a photon in half
A mathematical model shows that attempting to sever a fundamental particle of light could conjure new ones out of thin air.
- Planetary Science
An ancient moonpocalypse may explain Neptune’s odd moon Nereid
Neptune’s oddball moon Nereid may be the sole remnant of an earlier system, formed near the planet rather than being pulled in from afar.
- Paleontology
Some pterosaurs may have boasted bold iridescence
A new analysis of a 120-million-year-old fossil suggests at least one pterosaur species shimmered in iridescent greens and magentas.
- Animals
Even careful scuba divers can damage coral reefs
Hours of diving videos and hundreds of survey responses reveal the common diver mistakes that can cause irreversible reef damage.
- Paleontology
Frozen squirrel poop hints at sights and smells of Ice Age ecosystems
DNA preserved in ancient scat reveals what Yukon ground squirrels ate and what animals shared their world.
- Archaeology
One mystery of the Great Pyramid’s longevity has finally been solved
Differences in how the pyramid and surrounding soil vibrate, along with design choices, have protected the structure from earthquakes.
- Chemistry
A new method could spot fentanyl variants no one has cataloged yet
Researchers used machine learning to help predict chemical signatures for over 1 billion possible fentanyls, including variants never seen before.
- Health & Medicine
A drug may help people on GLP-1 meds preserve muscle
In a clinical trial, an experimental antibody reduced lean-mass loss in people on a GLP-1 drug. Whether that improves health is unclear.
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Math puzzle: A sequence of odd events
Solve the math puzzle from our August 2026 issue, in which a family investigates an odd happening.
