Animals
A new book finds parenting inspiration in the animal kingdom
In The Creatures’ Guide to Caring, science journalist Elizabeth Preston looks to the animal kingdom to explore what it means to be a good parent.
Featured Articles in this Issue
-
Cover Story
Math long resisted a digital disruption. AI is poised to change that
The painstaking process of formalization to verify proofs is starting to surge thanks to AI. That could radically change the way people do math.
Reviews & Previews
Science Visualized
Astronomy
A strange ‘chirp’ in a brilliant stellar blast points to a magnetar
Superluminous supernovas are the brightest stellar explosions in the universe. Astronomers may have found a mechanism that can trigger these events.
The Health Checkup
Health & Medicine
Breath carries clues to gut health
At-home breath tests could reveal insights about gut health, though their ability to assess food intolerances is not yet clear.
More Stories from the May 1, 2026 issue
- Life
Talking dogs and chatty cats could one day ‘speak’ in our language
Advances in decoding animal sounds might someday make animal translators a possibility.
- Physics
When the pressure’s off, this superconductor appears to break records
A sudden release of pressure allowed a copper-based compound to superconduct at the highest temperature yet for atmospheric pressure, a study claims.
- Tech
Robots with fingernails can grasp thin edges
A robotic hand with fingernail-like tips lets robots peel fruit, open lids and pick up thin, flat objects with more precise, human-like dexterity.
- Animals
A koala population’s rapid rebound may let it escape inbreeding’s perils
As koalas in southern Australia have grown from a few hundred to almost half a million, the marsupials show signs of regaining lost genetic variation.
- Climate
Hundreds of studies have missed how much the oceans are rising
A widely used method to calculate sea level rise may have missed up to a century of change, so the risks could hit home for millions sooner than thought.
- Neuroscience
Why is math harder for some kids? Brain scans offer clues
Kids with math learning disabilities process number symbols differently than quantities shown as dots — and it shows up in MRIs.
- Planetary Science
A chemical ‘Goldilocks zone’ may limit which planets can host life
Life needs nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus. But without the right balance of oxygen, these elements get locked away in planets’ cores.
- Chemistry
This molecule puts a new twist on the Möbius strip
A molecule made of carbon and chlorine is half as twisty as the paper loops common in math classes.
- Health & Medicine
A rising percentage of U.S. teens aren’t getting enough sleep
Teens need eight to 10 hours of sleep each night. A large majority get less than that, according to a national survey of U.S. high school students.
- Archaeology
AI helps archaeologists solve a Roman gaming mystery
Researchers used AI-driven virtual players to test more than 100 rule sets, matching gameplay to wear patterns on a Roman limestone board.
- Astronomy
This inside-out planetary system has astronomers scratching their heads
A rocky exoplanet in the LHS 1903 system defies planet formation models, hinting that gravitational upheaval reshaped the red dwarf’s four worlds.
- Neuroscience
Clumps of mouse brain cells can learn to play a virtual game
Sure, playing video game is fun. But the ability of tiny brain organoids to pick up a skill could provide insight into how healthy brains work.
- Anthropology
The ancient human ancestor ‘Little Foot’ gets a new face
A new digital reconstruction of the face of an early Australopithecus specimen helps add details about the origins of our own species.
- Health & Medicine
‘Smart underwear’ measures how often humans fart
“Zen digesters” rarely fart. “Hydrogen hyperproducers” fart a lot. Scientists are investigating what is typical.
- Health & Medicine
Can you trust the results from gut microbiome tests? Maybe not
Seven firms reported inconsistent results on the same sample, some over multiple tests. These gut microbe discrepancies could have health consequences.
- Health & Medicine
AI may be giving teens bad nutrition advice
AI-generated meal plans for fictional teens cut an entire meal’s worth of calories and carbs while overemphasizing protein and fats, a new study reports.
- Animals
Sharks are ingesting drugs in the Bahamas
Nearly one third of sharks studied near the Bahamas’ Eleuthera Island were found to have caffeine, painkillers and other drugs in their bloodstreams.
- Math
Huge Numbers tackles mathematics at its most incomprehensibly large
Mathematician Richard Elwes surveys googology, the study of enormous numbers, in a new book.
-
Crossword: Traveling Light
Solve the crossword from our May 2026 issue, in which we expand the way we see the universe.
