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Emily Anthes is a science journalist and author. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Wired, Scientific American, Psychology Today, BBC Future, SEED, Discover, Popular Science, Slate, The Boston Globe, and elsewhere. Emily is also the author of the Instant Egghead Guide: The Mind (St. Martin’s Press, 2009). Her blog post, “When a deaf man has Tourette’s,” was selected for inclusion in The Open Laboratory 2010: The Best of Science Writing on the Web....

Ever since physicists invented particle accelerators, nearly 80 years ago, they have used them for such exotic tasks as splitting atoms, transmuting elements, producing antimatter and creating particles not previously observed in nature. With luck, though, they could soon undertake a challenge that will make those achievements seem almost pedestrian. Accelerators may produce the most profoundly mysterious objects in the universe: black holes. When one thinks of black holes, one usually envisions massive monsters that can swallow spaceships, or even stars, whole....

By the time we reach middle age, many of us can look forward to serious talks from our physician about blood pressure, cholesterol levels, diet and exercise. These and other factors can meaningfully affect the risk of developing coronary heart disease. This condition arises from narrowing of the heart’s arteries and can result in heart attack or heart failure, making it the leading cause of death worldwide. But awareness of these risk factors becomes useful only later in life, when the likelihood of a heart attack has already begun to climb sharply....

Young people in the U.S. are experiencing a mental health crisis. Reports from the surgeon general, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychological Association highlight the catastrophe, with families and children trying to get a moment with overwhelmed counselors, psychologists or social workers. Is this crisis caused by the pandemic? No. Those of us monitoring the health and well-being of youth know this storm began years ago. In 2022 we continue to fund a children’s mental health system based on the needs of adult war veterans....

For years blue-ribbon panels of experts have sounded the alarm about a looming shortage of scientists, mathematicians and engineers in the U.S.—making dire predictions of damage to the national economy, threats to security and loss of status in the world. There also seemed to be an attractive solution: coax more women to these traditionally male fields. But there was not much public discussion about the reasons more women are not pursuing careers in these fields until 2005, when then Harvard University president Lawrence Summers offered his personal observations....

Key concepts Architecture Geometric shapes Engineering Physics Introduction Have you ever seen a geodesic dome? Geodesic domes are spherelike structures made up of interconnected triangles. A famous geodesic dome is Walt Disney World’s Spaceship Earth at Epcot, but geodesic domes are also commonly found as climbing domes at playgrounds. In this science activity you will get to build a simple geodesic dome using gumdrops and toothpicks. Get ready to do some tasty engineering!...

Polar bears draw most visitors to Spitsbergen, the largest island in Norway’s Svalbard archipelago. For me, rocks were the allure. My colleagues and I, all geologists and climate scientists, flew to this remote Arctic island in the summer of 2007 to find definitive evidence of what was then considered the most abrupt global warming episode of all time. Getting to the rocky outcrops that might entomb these clues meant a rugged, two-hour hike from our old bunkhouse in the former coal-mining village of Longyearbyen, so we set out early after a night’s rest....

Created, written & designed by John Pavlus / Screencasts produced by Smashcut Media / Music by Jeff Alvarez Check out previous episodes of The Monitor. Subscribe to this video podcast via iTunes or RSS Background on this week’s stories: #1. CSI: Colossal Squid Investigation Discovery, Reuters and Newsweek all covered the dissection of the largest specimen ever caught of the largest invertebrate on Earth. The BBC and The Guardian homed in on the squid’s basketball-size eyes, and their coverage includes some pretty compelling video....

On August 13, 1415, the 27-year-old English king Henry V led his army into France. Within two months dysentery had killed perhaps a quarter of his men, while a French army four times its size blocked escape to Calais and across the English Channel. Winter approached; food grew scarce. Yet in one of the most remarkable upsets in military history, a force of fewer than 7,000 English soldiers—most of them lightly armed archers—repulsed 20,000 to 30,000 heavily armored French men-at-arms near the village of Agincourt, killing thousands....

Like so many momentous events in the lives of young women, this one began with a missed period. Julia* had been on oral contraceptives for years, but when she went off the pill, her period did not start up again. Her doctor told her this was not unusual, but months later she still was not menstruating and had begun to experience hot flashes. Hormone levels showed she had a condition called primary ovarian insufficiency—in other words, premature menopause....

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is ending fetal-tissue research by government scientists and placing restrictions on academic researchers seeking grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for studies involving fetal tissue. The administration said on 5 June that it will set up an ethics-review board to evaluate NIH grant applications that would support research with fetal tissue, which is collected from elective abortions. But the government has already decided against renewing its contract with a laboratory at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), that uses fetal tissue to study HIV....

Rules for Genetically Engineered Animals After years of anticipation, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released in September preliminary guidelines for genetically engineered animals [see “Does the World Need GM Foods?”; SciAm, April 2001]. The agency, which deemed that cloned meat poses no extra risk, wants to regulate engineered animals as it does drugs. Producers would have to substantiate claims and demonstrate safety. Consumer groups complain that the draft sets no provision for labeling and that safety trials can be done behind closed doors, as is the case for drug applications....

In the year these images were published, a century ago, an equal number of people in America lived in the cities and in the countryside. But by the end of the decade the urban population was larger, as farms replaced horses and laborers with machines and farmhands and their families moved to the cities to work in factories that paid more than they could earn as agricultural laborers. From photographs, art and movies we have some idea of the extremes of city living (then and now!...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.—SpaceX’s giant new rocket, the Falcon Heavy, is set for its risky first test launch today (Feb. 6) from the historic Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch window stretches from 1:30 to 4 p.m. EDT (1830 to 2100 GMT). You can watch the launch live here on Space.com, courtesy of SpaceX, beginning at 1:10 p.m. EST (1810 GMT). Weather conditions are currently at 80 percent “go” for today, and 70 percent for a backup launch time tomorrow, according to the 45th Space Wing’s Weather Squadron, which monitors weather for air and space operations at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Kennedy Space Center....

Growing numbers of children who test positive for the COVID-causing virus SARS-CoV-2 at hospitals this winter are showing up with a barking cough, the characteristic symptom of croup. Though this respiratory syndrome is usually mild, it may lead to more serious illness. An estimated one in 30,000 croup cases are fatal, according to a 2013 analysis derived from studies in a handful of countries, including Canada and the U.S. The current spike in pediatric croup could be linked to the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus that continues to wash over the U....

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently unveiled a “Better Health” campaign to combat obesity. The announcement was prompted by Johnson’s bout with COVID-19, which included a stint in intensive care in April. Johnson is convinced that his reported Body Mass Index of 36 (30 is considered obese) was responsible for the severity of his infection and is now on a mission to slim down the United Kingdom. Johnson’s proposed interventions include banning junk food advertising before 9 P....

Most snakes don’t boast strong internal navigation systems, but Burmese pythons have evolved unusually accurate internal maps and compasses that guide them home from many miles away, according to a new report. Burmese pythons — one of the largest species of snakes in the world, capable of growing more than 18 feet (5.5 meters) long — are native to southern Asia. However, they have become increasingly problematic invasive species in southern Florida over the past 15 years as a result of the (intentional or unintentional) release of pet snakes....

The following essay is reprinted with permission from The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research. Intellectual property may be the legal term for creations, including literary or artistic, but there is something inherently human about it as well. It has long been taken that only human beings are capable of being intelligent in its fullest form, and the concept of intellectual property strives to protect the product of such human intelligence....

A rocket engine that helped launch five space shuttle missions, including the penultimate flight of the program in 2011, was fired again on Thursday (March 10) in preparation for the first crewed flight of NASA’s new heavy-lift rocket. The space agency successfully test fired the RS-25 rocket engine for a full 500 seconds, clearing a milestone toward its exploration goals. The next time that particular engine, serial number 2059, fires for that length of time, it will be to launch astronauts on NASA’s first crewed mission beyond Earth orbit since the last of the Apollo moon missions more than 45 years ago....

Federal regulators approved the first direct-to-consumer test for the BRCA genes, which increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancer, the agency announced on Tuesday. The test for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, from 23andMe, uses a saliva sample. But it assesses only three of the more than 1,000 known BRCA1/2 mutations, raising concerns that women who are told they do not have any of those variants will be lulled into believing that, as a result, they do not have an elevated risk for breast and ovarian cancer....