Animals
Predators Act like Butterflies’ Eyespots Are Looking Right at Them
Butterfly markings work better when they’re “looking” toward prey
Stories by Maddie Bender
Conservation
AI Diagnoses Devastating Olive Tree Infection
Predicting severity can help address deadly effects to olive groves
Health Care
Marker Tip—Without Ink!—Makes a Hardy Medical Sampler
The marker material conserved samples for up to a week
Microbiology
Acne Inflammation Discovery Could Lead to New Treatments
A key player is revealed in the acne-causing immune battle
Space Exploration
NASA Eyes Electric Car Tech for Future Moon Rovers
Space agencies are partnering with car manufacturers to custom build new rovers—or retrofit commercial vehicles—for future missions to the moon and Mars
Natural Disasters
Recycled Tennis Balls Could Protect Buildings from Earthquakes
A low-cost design helps shaking buildings roll to a stop
Basic Chemistry
What’s Brewing in a Beer Is Startling Complexity
High-powered chemistry lets researchers trace a beer back to its ingredients
Animals
The Venus’s Flower Basket’s Weird Fluid Dynamics Explained
A deep-sea sponge’s unique structure helps it eat and mate while reducing drag
Microbiology
Engineered Bacteria Produce a Rainbow of Colors
By inserting some genes and knocking down others, scientists solved a core problem in synthetic biology
Evolution
During a Rodent Quadrathlon, Researchers Learn That Ground Squirrels Have Personalities
The rodents’ personalities may help them to secure territory and avoid prey.
Space Exploration
SpaceX’s Starship Could Rocket-Boost Research in Space
The platform could aid climate science, space junk cleanup and planetary exploration
Policy
In Case You Missed It
Top news from around the world
Health Care
The Terrible Toll of 76 Autoimmune Diseases
About 80 conditions can be described as autoimmune disorders, although definitions are still changing
Medicine
Misophonia Might Not Be about Hating Sounds After All
The phenomenon triggers strong negative reactions to everyday sounds but might come from subconscious mirroring behavior
Health Care
Years Before COVID, Zombies Helped Prepare One Hospital System for the Real Pandemic
An educational experiment used escape rooms and the undead to set the stage for a terrible situation that would become all too real
Policy
In Case You Missed It
Top news from around the world
Ecology
Suspect List Narrows in Mysterious Bird Die-Off
Here’s how researchers are zeroing in on the culprit
Neuroscience
Inspired by Chronic Illness, She Made Award-Winning Art about the Brain
Scientific American presents the winner and honorable mentions of the 11th annual Art of Neuroscience contest
Renewable Energy
Wave Power Charges Ahead with Static Electricity Generators
An ocean-powered buoy brings technology closer to the dream of obtaining energy from the sea
Public Health
COVID, Quickly, Episode 12: Masking Up Again and Why People Refuse Shots
Today we bring you a new episode in our podcast series COVID, Quickly. Every two weeks, Scientific American ’s senior health editors Tanya Lewis and Josh Fischman catch you up on the essential developments in the pandemic: from vaccines to new variants and everything in between...
