Science & Society
Nine companies are steering the future of artificial intelligence
In ‘The Big Nine,’ futurist Amy Webb explores the political and economic factors that are shaping artificial intelligence.
Featured Articles in this Issue
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Cover Story
Saber-toothed cats were fierce and family-oriented
New details shift the debate on whether Smilodon lived and hunted in packs, and answer questions about other behaviors and abilities.
Reviews & Previews
Science Visualized
Physics
How droplets of oil or water can glow vibrant colors
Viewed from various angles, tiny droplets of water or oil glow different colors under white light.
Notebook
Space
It’s time to start taking the search for E.T. seriously, astronomers say
Astronomers are hoping to make looking for alien technology an official science goal of NASA.
Features
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The CBD boom is way ahead of the science
As CBD-laced foods and health products gain popularity, researchers are just beginning to fill the gaping holes in knowledge about this cannabis molecule’s benefits.
More Stories from the March 30, 2019 issue
- Astronomy
Colliding neutron stars shot a light-speed jet through space
A stream of particles created in a neutron star crash, detected in 2017 using gravitational waves, could explain certain mysterious flashes of light.
- Animals
Hermit crabs are drawn to the smell of their own dead
A new study finds that the smell of hermit crab flesh attracts other hermit crabs of the same species desperately looking for a larger shell.
- Genetics
A long handshake can spread your DNA to objects you didn’t touch
Two new studies show that even brief contact with another person or object could transfer your DNA far and wide.
- Health & Medicine
Treating mosquitoes may be a new way to fight malaria
A lab test suggests it may be possible to treat mosquitoes infected with the malaria parasite to stop disease transmission.
- Genetics
Genes might explain why dogs can’t sniff out some people under stress
Genes and stress may change a person’s body odor, confusing police dogs.
- Animals
What spiders eating weird stuff tell us about complex Amazon food webs
By documenting rare events of invertebrates eating small vertebrates, scientists are shedding new light on the Amazon rainforest’s intricate ecosystem.
- Animals
Bears that eat ‘junk food’ may hibernate less and age faster
Wild black bears snacking on leftovers of sugary, highly processed foods in Colorado show possible signs of faster cellular wear.
- Neuroscience
How singing mice belt out duets
A precise timing system in the brain helps musical rodents from the cloud forests of Costa Rica sing to one another.
- Life
Eating a lot of fiber could improve some cancer treatments
A high-fiber diet, which boosts the diversity of gut microbes, may make an immune therapy against skin cancer more effective.
- Cosmology
Hidden ancient neutrinos may shape the patterns of galaxies
The gravitational pull of subatomic particles born in the universe’s first second seem to influence how galaxies cluster into rings.
- Archaeology
A 2,000-year-old tattoo tool is the oldest in western North America
The artifact is made of two pigment-stained cactus spines, and has been sitting in storage since its discovery in 1972.
- Astronomy
The first planet Kepler spotted has finally been confirmed 10 years later
Astronomers had dismissed the first exoplanet candidate spotted by the Kepler space telescope as a false alarm.
- Oceans
Tiny bits of iron may explain why some icebergs are green
Scientists originally thought the green hue of some icebergs came from carbon particles. Instead, iron oxides may color the ice.
- Anthropology
Hominids may have hunted rabbits as far back as 400,000 years ago
Stone Age groups in Europe put small game on the menu surprisingly early.
- Physics
Microwaved grapes make fireballs, and scientists now know why
Electromagnetic waves bounce back and forth inside a grape, creating plasma.
- Health & Medicine
FDA has approved the first ketamine-based antidepressant
A nasal spray with a ketamine-based drug promises faster relief from depression for some people.
- Animals
How a tiger transforms into a man-eater
‘No Beast So Fierce’ examines the historical and environmental factors that turned a tiger in Nepal and India into a human-killer.
- Health & Medicine
50 years ago, drug abuse was higher among physicians than the public
In 1969, physicians abused drugs at a higher rate than the general public — that’s still true today.
