Vol. 201 No. 9

Reviews & Previews

Science Visualized

Notebook

Features

More Stories from the May 7, 2022 issue

  1. Collage of meat and vegetables
    Humans

    Eating meat is the Western norm. But norms can change

    A meat-heavy diet, with its high climate costs, is the norm in the West. So social scientists are working to upend normal.

    By
  2. two medical professionals standing in a hallway looking over a chart
    Health & Medicine

    Racial bias can seep into U.S. patients’ medical notes

    Black patients were more often described negatively in medical notes than white patients, which may impact care.

    By
  3. Ukrainian citizen learns to operate a weapon
    Science & Society

    Ukrainian identity solidified for 30 years. Putin ignored the science

    Social scientists have mapped Ukrainian allegiances shifting from Russia toward Ukraine since the country’s independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

    By
  4. aerial photo of a grid of streets in Chicago
    Humans

    Where you grew up may shape your navigational skills

    People raised in cities with simple, gridlike layouts were worse at navigating in a video game designed for studying the brain.

    By
  5. a photo of the Atacama Cosmology Telescope scanning the night sky with the Milky Way overhead
    Space

    50 years ago, scientists had hints of a planet beyond Pluto

    In 1972, calculations from Halley’s comet offered evidence of another planet. Today’s astronomers are still searching for a Planet Nine.

    By
  6. image of a scoop of ice cream
    Chemistry

    Grainy ice cream is unpleasant. Plant-based nanocrystals might help

    The growth of large ice crystals in ice cream produces a coarse texture. A cellulose nanocrystal stabilizer could help keep the unwelcome iciness away.

    By
  7. image of galaxies in the sky with an inset showing newfound possible star
    Astronomy

    A star nicknamed ‘Earendel’ may be the most distant yet seen

    Analyzing Hubble Space Telescope images revealed a star whose light originates from about 12.9 billion light-years away, researchers say.

    By
  8. aerial photo of floating solar panels on a lake in Haltern, Germany
    Climate

    A UN report says stopping climate change is possible but action is needed now

    We already have a broad array of tools to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030, a new report finds. Now we just have to use them.

    By
  9. photo of the Collider Detector at Fermilab
    Particle Physics

    The W boson might be extra hefty. If so, it could hint at new physics

    A new measurement of the W boson’s mass, made by smashing particles together, reveals a potential crack in physics’ standard model.

    By
  10. Arctocyon primaevus skull
    Paleontology

    Mammals’ bodies outpaced their brains right after the dinosaurs died

    Fossils show that mammals’ brains and bodies did not balloon together. The animals’ brains grew bigger later.

    By
  11. illustration of AB Aurigae star
    Astronomy

    A newly discovered planet renews debate about how some giant worlds form

    An implosion of gas may have given birth to this young exoplanet, which orbits too far from its star to have been built up bit by bit, researchers say.

    By
  12. image of Neptune
    Planetary Science

    New thermal maps of Neptune reveal surprising temperature swings

    Neptune's atmospheric temperatures show a global drop and later, a weird isolated spike at the south pole. Scientists don't yet know why.

    By