Plants
'In Botanical Time' explores the ways Earth’s oldest plants cheat death
Author Christopher Woods unpacks the science behind ancient plants’ longevity in a new book.
Featured Articles in this Issue
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Cover Story
Animals experience joy. Scientists want to measure it
Scientists have long focused on quantifying fear and other negative emotions in animals. Now they’re trying to measure positive feelings — and it’s a challenge.
Reviews & Previews
Science Visualized
Life
From viruses to elephants, nature thrives on tiled patterns
A compilation of 100 examples of biological tilings shows how repeated natural motifs enhance strength, flexibility and other key functions.
The Rest is History
Particle Physics
Physicists discovered neutrinos 70 years ago. The ghostly particles still have secrets to tell
Neutrinos have kept scientists on their toes in the decades since they were discovered.
More Stories from the February 1, 2026 issue
- Physics
Physics theories about the multiverse are stranger than fiction
Cosmology and quantum physics both offer tantalizing possibilities that we inhabit just one reality among many. But testing that idea is challenging.
- Health & Medicine
Personalized ‘prehabilitation’ helps the body brace for major surgery
A small study finds that individualized prehab can dampen harmful immune responses and may reduce complications after an operation.
- Physics
Twisted stacks of 2-D carbon act like a weird type of superconductor
“Magic-angle” graphene may provide new clues into poorly understood unconventional superconductors, which operate at higher-than-normal temperatures.
- Anthropology
A foot fossil suggests a second early human relative lived alongside Lucy
Foot bones and other fossils have been attributed to Australopithecus deyiremeda, a recently discovered species that may shake up the human family tree.
- Planetary Science
Listen to the crackle of Martian ‘mini-lightning’
A microphone on NASA’s Perseverance rover recorded the sounds of electrical discharges generated by dusty gusts.
- Plants
Moss spores survived in space for 9 months
The moss species Physcomitrium patens is the latest organism to survive an extended stay in the vacuum and radiation of space.
- Animals
Bats might be the next bird flu wild card
Finding that vampire bats along Peru’s coast carried H5N1 antibodies raises concerns that multiple bat species could become reservoirs for the virus.
- Animals
Lions have a second roar that no one noticed until now
A machine learning analysis of wild lion audio reveals they have two roar types, not one. This insight might help detect where lions are declining.
- Health & Medicine
In animal tests, this needle-free insulin acted as fast as injections
Managing diabetes with injections is challenging. Joining insulin to a skin-penetrating polymer was as effective as shots at regulating blood sugar.
- Planetary Science
Boiling oceans may sculpt the surfaces of small icy moons
Simulations show that subsurface oceans on small moons may hit boiling conditions, potentially creating features like Miranda’s distinctive ridges.
- Physics
There’s math behind this maddening golf mishap
Math and physics explain the anguish of a golf ball that zings around the rim of the hole instead of falling in.
- Astronomy
Early views of a supernova’s first moments reveal a lopsided blast
Some of the earliest images ever taken in the wake of massive star’s death give astronomers important clues about what triggers a supernova.
- Health & Medicine
A diet low in glutamate may ease migraines
People with Gulf War Illness found relief from migraines after a month on a low-glutamate diet, hinting at a new way to ease symptoms.
- Animals
Ancient DNA rewrites the tale of when and how cats left Africa
Cats were domesticated in North Africa, but spread to Europe only about 2,000 years ago. Earlier reports of “house” cats were wild cats.
- Tech
Mosquitoes use it to suck blood. Researchers used it to 3-D print
A mosquito proboscis repurposed as a 3-D printing nozzle can print filaments around 20 micrometers wide, half the width of a fine human hair.
- Oceans
Deep-sea mining might feed plankton a diet of junk food
An analysis of mining plumes in the Pacific Ocean reveals they kick up particles sized similarly to the more nutritious tidbits that plankton eat.
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Math puzzle: The homesick rover
Solve the math puzzle from our February 2026 issue, where we plan a return passage for a robotic explorer that doesn’t want to explore.
