Scientific American.com
How Are Annual Flu Vaccines Made?
Immunologist Zachary Rubin explains how the World Health Organization decides which strains of influenza end up in annual flu vaccines.
Chimpanzee Metacognition Allows Humanlike Belief Revision
Are we the only rational thinkers? New research on our primate cousins suggests otherwise
Seismometers Picked Up Hurricane Melissa’s Historic Power Like an Earthquake
Seismometers picked up the ferocious winds and waves of Hurricane Melissa, showing how the tools can be used to better understand storms today and those from the past
Trump’s Baffling Call for Resuming U.S. Nuclear Tests
“The only countries that will really learn more if [U.S. nuclear] testing resumes are Russia and, to a much greater extent, China,” says Jeffrey Lewis, an expert on the geopolitics of nuclear weaponry
Nanotyrannus Isn’t a Juvenile T-Rex—It’s a Separate Dinosaur
An analysis suggests Nanotyrannus is a separate, smaller dinosaur that lived alongside T. rex, settling a 30-year debate
FDA Is Investigating the Abortion Pill Mifepristone despite Decades of Studies Showing It’s Safe
Some scientists are concerned that the Trump administration will use “junk science” when reviewing mifepristone’s safety record
How an Error in Cult Classic Game Doom Sparked New Appreciation for Pi
What would the world look like if we changed the value of pi? Whether in the real world or a game environment, the answer is complex
Glowing Sperm Reveals How Female Mosquitos Control Sex
Female Aedes mosquitoes signal that copulation can proceed by subtly extending their genitalia
Does Hurricane Melissa Show It’s Time for a Category 6 Designation?
Hurricane Melissa’s powerful winds and drenching rains devastated Jamaica. But is its wrath a sign that we need a new designation for monster storms?
Spider Web Patterns May Help Arachnids Sense Vibrations from Prey
Researchers simulated the effects that different web decorations had on vibrations, adding fresh insight to a decades-old debate about the function of these structures
Russia’s Burevestnik Nuclear-Powered Missile Is a Very Bad Idea
Russian leader Vladimir Putin claimed his nation conducted a successful flight of a nuclear-powered cruise missile. Here’s how that missile might work
The Neuroscience behind the ‘Parenting Paradox’ of Happiness
Separate brain processes cope with moment-to-moment versus big-picture experiences, which helps explain how parenting both increases and decreases aspects of well-being
H9N2 Bird Flu Virus Could Pose Human Pandemic Risk, Experts Warn
Experiments suggests H9N2 has adapted to human cells, but cases of person-to-person transmission haven’t been reported yet
What TikTok’s U.S. Spin-off Means for Its Algorithm and Content Moderation
TikTok’s U.S. spin-off could reshape its algorithm and the way culture is curated online.
Hurricane Melissa Images and Videos Show the Horrifying Power of Third Strongest Atlantic Storm Ever
These images of Hurricane Melissa show the Category 5 storm in all its power
The Science of How Hurricane Melissa Became So Extreme
A nearly perfect alignment of factors has enabled Hurricane Melissa to become one of the most intense Atlantic storms ever recorded
China’s Chang’e 6 Mission Found Rare Meteorite Fragments on Moon
These rare samples, uncovered on the moon by China’s Chang’e 6 mission, might help to reveal secrets of how the solar system evolved
Did Astronomers Photograph UFOs Orbiting Earth in the 1950s?
New peer-reviewed research reporting strange lights in the pre-space-age sky is sparking curiosity and controversy
Did Dark Matter Help Supersize the Universe?
Theorists have found that a “warm” version of cosmic inflation is consistent with known physics, linking it to the hunt for dark matter
What’s Behind This Luxury ‘Cat Poo’ Coffee’s Unique Flavor
Civets enrich coffee beans they eat and excrete with two fatty acids often used in dairy products, study finds
