Science & Society
The book ‘Viral BS’ offers a cure for medical myths and fake health news
In ‘Viral BS,’ physician and author Seema Yasmin fights misinformation with a dose of storytelling.
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Cover Story
How to detect, resist and counter the flood of fake news
Misinformation about health is drowning out the facts and putting us at risk. Researchers are learning why bad information spreads and how to protect yourself.
Reviews & Previews
Science Visualized
Animals
Dazzling underwater photos capture new views and scientific detail of fish larvae
Lab specimens of fish larvae are often mangled and bleached. Divers and researchers have partnered to study their rich colors and intricate bodies.
Notebook
Animals
How researchers can keep birds safe as U.S. wind farms expand
Tracking bald eagle abundance and migrating whooping cranes provides a clearer picture of where wind turbines could be safely built.
Features
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A few simple tricks make fake news stories stick in the brain
Human brains rely on shortcuts to be efficient. But these shortcuts leave us vulnerable to false information.
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Climate change disinformation is evolving. So are efforts to fight back
Researchers discuss effective ways to counter the changing tactics of climate denial.
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Vaccine hesitancy is nothing new. Here’s the damage it’s done over centuries
Pockets of people have railed against vaccines as long as the preventives have existed.
More Stories from the May 8, 2021 issue
- Particle Physics
Muon magnetism could hint at a breakdown of physics’ standard model
After two decades, a new measurement of the muon magnetic anomaly reinforces earlier hints that its value disagrees with standard physics.
- Genetics
Europe’s oldest known humans mated with Neandertals surprisingly often
DNA from ancient fossils suggests interbreeding regularly occurred between the two species by about 45,000 years ago, two studies find.
- Psychology
People add by default even when subtraction makes more sense
People default to addition when solving puzzles and problems, even when subtraction works better. That could underlie some modern-day excesses.
- Anthropology
A coronavirus epidemic may have hit East Asia about 25,000 years ago
An ancient viral outbreak may have left a genetic mark in East Asians that possibly influences their responses to the virus that causes COVID-19.
- Anthropology
Ancient humans may have had apelike brains even after leaving Africa
Modern humanlike brains may have evolved surprisingly late, about 1.7 million years ago, a new study suggests.
- Paleontology
The dinosaur-killing asteroid impact radically altered Earth’s tropical forests
The asteroid impact fundamentally reset the nature of Earth’s tropical rainforests, decreasing diversity at first and making them permanently darker.
- Life
Yawning helps lions synchronize their groups’ movements
A lion yawn is contagious, and when lions start yawning together, they start moving together. Synchronization may be key for group hunters like lions.
- Climate
A trek under Thwaites Glacier’s ice shelf reveals specific risks of warm water
An underwater autonomous craft collected the first data on the chemistry of seawater eroding the icy underbelly of Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier.
- Planetary Science
Earth sweeps up 5,200 tons of extraterrestrial dust each year
Thousands of micrometeorites collected from Antarctica come from both comets and asteroids, a new study suggests.
- Astronomy
A record-breaking, oxygen-starved galaxy may be full of gigantic stars’ shrapnel
The newly discovered galaxy may have once been home to stars more than 300 times as massive as the sun — a peek at conditions in the early universe.
- Science & Society
STEM’s racial, ethnic and gender gaps are still strikingly large
Black and Hispanic professionals remain underrepresented in STEM, while women’s representation varies widely by STEM field, according to a new report.
- Materials Science
Microscopic images reveal the science and beauty of face masks
Important insights into the particle-filtering properties of different fabrics also offer a sense of the unseen, textured world of face masks.
- Earth
A spike in Arctic lightning strikes may be linked to climate change
Global warming may be revving up summer thunderstorms in the Arctic, leading to skyrocketing numbers of lightning strikes.
- Life
These are the 5 costliest invasive species, causing billions in damages
Invasive species have cost the global economy at least $1 trillion since 1970 and $162.7 billion in 2017 alone. The annual cost is increasing.
- Sponsored Content
Conversations with Maya: Roald Hoffmann
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50 years ago, NASA relaxed quarantine rules for returning moon missions
Fifty years after NASA declared that moon missions returning to Earth weren’t a contamination risk, protocols for planetary missions are under review.
