In Case You Missed It: Astronaut Scott Kelly Returns to Earth This Month, China Employs an AI Weather Anchor—and More!

U.S.

Astronaut Scott Kelly returns to Earth this month after spending a full year in space, the longest mission for any American. Kelly is one half of nasa's Twins Study, an investigation into how life in microgravity affects physiology. His identical twin and fellow astronaut, Mark Kelly, remained on Earth.

U.K.

On supporting science journalism

If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.

An e-cigarette manufactured by British American Tobacco has received approval as a doctor-prescribed aid for quitting smoking. National health insurance will cover the vaping device.

CHAD

An outbreak of Guinea worm disease in dogs could thwart the anticipated eradication of the parasitic infection. Although only 25 human cases were reported globally in 2015, more than 450 infections were reported in dogs in Chad last year. Experts suspect canines are passing the parasites to humans.

CHINA

Xiaoice, an artificially intelligent computer program developed by Microsoft, has become a trainee weather anchor for Dragon TV, one of the country's largest news broadcasting channels. It currently delivers daily forecasts.

VIETNAM

The online video-streaming service Netflix expanded into Vietnam and more than 130 other nations, bringing the total up to 190 countries.

ANTARCTICA

Atmospheric scientists have started to gather information about clouds over Western Antarctica for the first time since 1967. The experiment will run until early 2017 and help climate modelers determine how warming at Earth's poles could change global weather patterns.

Subscribe to Support Independent Journalism

Great science journalism requires human expertise, time, effort and creativity. And it costs money. That’s why I and the journalists here at Scientific American hope you’ll join our community.

When you subscribe, you are supporting staff and freelance journalists who are passionate about telling science stories that are true, important and compelling. Our editors and reporters are often experts in their fields, which means they understand the nuances of big discoveries and can untangle the breakthroughs from the hype. With a subscription, you are also supporting rigorous fact-checking to ensure the words we publish are precise and accurate. And you’re supporting original illustrations, graphics and photos that bring you closer to an advanced laboratory, an ice sheet in Antarctica or a space mission in orbit. You’re helping us craft other types of high-quality journalism as well: Our newsletters are carefully written, edited and curated by staffers you have or will come to know and love. Our Science Quickly podcast is based on original reporting, collaboration with editors and scientists and exacting production.

Subscriptions keep this engine running so we can continue to deliver thoughtful, rigorous and independent science journalism to you. In an era of viral misinformation, this work is crucial. If you value what we do, I hope you’ll consider joining us as a subscriber

Thank you,

Jeanna Bryner, Editor in Chief, Scientific American