Animals
Why you should care about ‘The Insect Crisis’
A new book explains why insect populations are dwindling and why that’s a problem.
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Cover Story
How much does eating meat affect nations’ greenhouse gas emissions?
How much meat eating affects worldwide greenhouse gas emissions comes clear in new country-by-country analyses.
Reviews & Previews
Science Visualized
Climate
Coastal cities around the globe are sinking
Of 99 coastal cities, nearly one-third are sinking in some places at more than a centimeter per year, making them more vulnerable to rising seas.
Notebook
Animals
Invasive jorō spiders get huge and flashy — if they’re female
Taking the pulse (literally) of female jorō spiders hints that the arachnid might push farther north than a relative that has stayed put in the South.
Features
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These six foods may become more popular as the planet warms
Millet, kelp, Bambara groundnut and cassava are resilient, sustainable and nutrient dense — good options for future dinner plates.
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Oat and soy milks are planet friendly, but not as nutritious as cow milk
Plant-based milks are better for the environment, but nutrition-wise they fall behind cow milk.
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Farmers in India cut their carbon footprint with trees and solar power
Planting trees near crops and pumping water with solar power in India is reducing greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture.
More Stories from the May 7, 2022 issue
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HumansEating 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.
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Health & MedicineRacial 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.
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Science & SocietyUkrainian 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.
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HumansWhere 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.
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Space50 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.
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ChemistryGrainy 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.
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AstronomyA 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.
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ClimateA 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.
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Particle PhysicsThe 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.
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PaleontologyMammals’ 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.
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AstronomyA 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.
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Planetary ScienceNew 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.