Life
A new dinosaur doomsday exhibit showcases survival after destruction
The American Museum of Natural History’s “Impact: The End of the Age of the Dinosaurs” examines how an asteroid impact shaped life as we know it.
Featured Articles in this Issue
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Cover Story
How these strange cells may explain the origin of complex life
The tiny pantheon known as the Asgard archaea bear traits that hint at how plants, animals and fungi emerged on Earth.
Reviews & Previews
Science Visualized
Life
A rice weevil frozen in flight won the 2025 Nikon Small World photo contest
From fluorescent ferns to sprawling neurons, this year’s winning photos reveal the structures and artistry of life seen through a microscope.
The Health Checkup
Health & Medicine
Polar plunges aren’t just for the daring
Bragging rights and an adrenaline rush aren’t the only reasons to start the year with a frigid swim. A dip in icy water builds resilience.
More Stories from the January 1, 2026 issue
- Science & Society
Our relationship with alcohol is fraught. Ancient customs might inspire a reset
As evidence of alcohol's harms mounts, some people are testing out sobriety. Look to ancient civilizations' ways for a reset, scholars suggest.
- Physics
How to levitate objects sans magic
It’s possible to defy gravity using sound waves, magnets or electricity, but today’s methods can’t hoist heavy items high in the sky.
- Health & Medicine
Cancer treatments may get a boost from mRNA COVID vaccines
Cancer patients who got an mRNA COVID vaccine within a few months of their immunotherapy lived longer than those who did not, health records show.
- Health & Medicine
A new cholesterol-lowering pill shows promise in clinical trials
The drug enlicitide reduced cholesterol for adults with high levels due to an inherited disorder and may also work for a broader population.
- Climate
Australia’s tropical forests now emit CO₂, clouding the COP30 talks
These tropical forest CO₂ emissions may warn of similar shifts in other regions, a key topic for COP30 climate talks in Brazil.
- Astronomy
Some planets might home brew their own water
Tests on olivine hint that water-rich exoplanets could generate H2O internally, possibly explaining ocean worlds and even some of Earth’s early water.
- Paleontology
Nanotyrannus was not a teenaged T. rex
A new Nanotyrannus fossil suggests the diminutive dino lived alongside T. rex in the late Cretaceous Period.
- Artificial Intelligence
As teens in crisis turn to AI chatbots, simulated chats highlight risks
From blaming the victim to replying "I have no interest in your life" to suicidal thoughts, AI chatbots can respond unethically when used for therapy.
- Physics
A tiny, levitated glass sphere behaves like the hottest engine ever made
At an effective temperature of 13 million kelvins, the jiggling glass sphere could help scientists understand physics at the microscale.
- Animals
Woodpecker hammering is a full-body affair
The birds grunt like tennis pros when generating their rat-a-tat, a performance strategy that may help stabilize core muscles.
- Chemistry
Coffee beans pooped out by civets really are tastier. Here’s why
Pricey civet coffee gets its cred from its journey through the mammal’s gut, which changes the content of fat, protein, fatty acids — and even caffeine.
- Health & Medicine
‘Butt breathing’ could help people who can’t get oxygen the regular way
Takanori Takebe’s strange investigation into whether humans can use the gut for breathing has surprisingly sentimental origins: helping his dad.
- Animals
40,000-year-old woolly mammoth RNA offers a peek into its last moments
Ancient RNA from Yuka, a 40,000-year-old woolly mammoth preserved in permafrost, can offer new biological insights into the Ice Age animal’s life.
- Animals
Polar bears provide millions of kilograms of food for other Arctic species
A new study shows how much food polar bears leave behind — and how their decline threatens scavengers across the Arctic.
- Astronomy
See the largest, most detailed radio image of the Milky Way yet
Supernova remnants, stellar nurseries and more populate the new edge-on view of the Milky Way as seen from Earth’s southern hemisphere.
- Health & Medicine
Volunteers agreed to be buried face-down in the snow, for science
A safety device helped maintain a buried person’s oxygen levels for up to 35 minutes, tests show, buying crucial time for an avalanche rescue.
- Humans
Napoleon’s retreating army may have been plagued by these microbes
DNA from Napoleonic soldiers’ teeth uncovered two fever-causing bacteria that may have worsened the army’s fatal retreat from Russia.
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Breaking Ground Crossword
Solve the crossword from our January 2026 issue, in which we take a crack at geological principles
