Science & Society
The spoken word album ‘Experimental Words’ weaves rhyme with reason
The spoken word album Experimental Words, a collaboration between researchers and poets, explores the intersection between science and art.
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Cover Story
When James Webb launches, it will have a bigger to-do list than 1980s researchers suspected
The James Webb Space Telescope has been in development for so long that space science has changed in the meantime.
Reviews & Previews
Science Visualized
Life
A beautiful oak leaf portrait won the 2021 Nikon Small World photography contest
The annual competition showcases otherworldly photos that capture microscopic features of nature and science.
Notebook
Chemistry
A pinch of saturated fat could make tempering chocolate a breeze
Adding a small amount of fatty molecules to cocoa butter could simplify the labor-intensive tempering process to create melt-in-your-mouth chocolate.
Features
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How our SN 10 scientists have responded to tumultuous times
COVID-19, social justice movements and the realities of climate change have given our Scientists to Watch new perspective.
More Stories from the October 9, 2021 issue
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Anthropology50 years ago, X-rays revealed what ancient Egyptians kept under wraps
In the 1970s, scientists used X-rays to unravel mummy secrets. Now, advances in technology are providing unprecedented views of ancient Egyptians.
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AnimalsA newfound boa sports big eyes and a square nose
Among the smallest boas in the world, the Hispaniolan vineboa inhabits a small patch of dry forest along the Dominican Republic’s border with Haiti.
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Health & MedicineThese charts show that COVID-19 vaccines are doing their job
COVID-19 shots may not always prevent infections, but for now, they are keeping the vast majority of vaccinated people out of the hospital.
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CosmologyAstronomers may have seen a star gulp down a black hole and explode
It took sleuthing through data collected by a variety of observatories to piece together the first firm evidence of a theorized cosmic phenomenon.
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AgriculturePotty-trained cattle could help reduce pollution
About a dozen calves have been trained to pee in a stall. Toilet training cows on a large scale could cut down on pollution, researchers say.
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AnthropologyStone Age humans or their relatives occasionally trekked through a green Arabia
Hominids periodically inhabited ancient Arabia starting around 400,000 years ago when lakes temporarily formed as a result of monsoons, a study finds.
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LifeInfants may laugh like some apes in their first months of life
Laughter seems to change over life’s early months, perhaps influenced by the unconscious feedback parents give when they play with their little ones.
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PhysicsNew ‘vortex beams’ of atoms and molecules are the first of their kind
Twisted beams of atoms and molecules join other types of corkscrew beams made of light or electrons.
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Planetary ScienceNASA’s Perseverance rover snagged its first Martian rock samples
Two tubes of stone drilled from a basalt rock nicknamed Rochette are the first from Mars slated to eventually return to Earth.
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AstronomyA supernova’s delayed reappearance could pin down how fast the universe expands
“SN Requiem” should reappear in the 2030s and help determine the universe’s expansion rate.
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LifeFires may have affected up to 85 percent of threatened Amazon species
Since 2001, fires in the Amazon have impacted up to about 190,000 square kilometers — roughly the size of Washington state.
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ArchaeologyStone Age people used bone scrapers to make leather and pelts
African cave finds include remains of skinned creatures and hide scrapers made from animal ribs.
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AnimalsHow metal-infused jaws give some ants an exceptionally sharp bite
Some small animals make cuts, tears and punctures that they couldn’t otherwise do using body parts reinforced with metals such as zinc and manganese.
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EarthHow AI can help forecast how much Arctic sea ice will shrink
Trained on sea ice observations and climate simulations, IceNet is 95 percent accurate in forecasting sea ice extent two months in advance.
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AnthropologyAncient DNA shows the peopling of Southeast Asian islands was surprisingly complex
Ancient DNA from a hunter-gatherer skeleton points to earlier-than-expected human arrivals on Southeast Asian islands known as Wallacea.