
Plants can ‘hear’ rain coming, spurring them into action
Even before water reaches them, the sound of droplets triggers germination in rice plants
K. R. Callaway is an editorial intern at Scientific American. She specializes in science, health, history and policy.

Plants can ‘hear’ rain coming, spurring them into action
Even before water reaches them, the sound of droplets triggers germination in rice plants

Songbirds reveal the dark side of making new brain cells as adults
A new study in songbirds might help explain why humans don’t generate many new brain cells, called neurons, as adults

How far from humanity were the astronauts of Artemis II? The answer will surprise you
Artemis II’s crew went farther from humanity than anyone has been before. Here’s how one scientist determined whom, specifically, they were farthest from

How the wildlife trade boosts the chance of a disease jumping from animals to humans
Decades of data reveal that animals involved in the wildlife trade—from pet sales to meat markets to illegal poaching—are much more likely to carry pathogens that can infect humans

How NASA’s moon mission could help transform space medicine
Artemis II’s AVATAR experiment will see organs-on-a-chip travel to the moon and back, revealing how such a journey affects the body’s cells

Stunning images reveal a massive coral reef for the first time in more than a century
These incredible corals form what may be one of the world’s largest reef systems—and researchers have a plan to restore it

A curious secret of color vision revealed by scientists
Knowing how your eye optimizes vision could have big implications for the progression of nearsightedness

Artemis II’s toilet is a moon mission milestone
On their voyages to the moon, NASA’s astronauts are finally getting some creature comforts of terrestrial toilets—such as having a door and being able to pee and poop simultaneously

Earth’s magnetic field may be more powerful than we thought
A major defense against everything space throws at us, Earth’s magnetic field may even protect the moon from damaging galactic cosmic rays

Dangerous microbes could be getting a hidden boost from climate change
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are increasing, and a new study finds that extreme weather may be juicing their rise

There might be less water on the moon than we’d hoped
New satellite data come up dry as the search for lunar ice continues

The curious math that explains why fashion trends always come back around
Fashion’s 20-year trend cycle isn’t just based on vibes; it can be mathematically modeled

A boom in gravitational waves leaves scientists with more questions than answers
A new data release more than doubles the number of gravitational-wave candidate events—and reveals unexpected complexities of merging black holes

The real reason there are no snakes in Ireland
It wasn’t Saint Patrick but a long history of chilly weather and geographic isolation that kept the Emerald Isle snake-free

Spaceflight supercharges viruses’ ability to infect bacteria
Viruses develop tricks to attack bacteria without the help of gravity

Scientists created a digital library full of ants
Using a synchrotron powered CT scanner, the Antscan project created an open-source digital library cataloguing thousands of 3D ant specimens

Ring the Fish Doorbell to help migrating fish navigate a Dutch canal
A Dutch lock is closed for the spring, and its employees want you to tell them when migrating fish come knocking by ringing a digital doorbell

Scientists gave the same sample to seven at-home microbiome tests. The results were dramatically different
The science and the regulations to underpin these tests “just aren’t there yet,” researchers say

Chimpanzee pee reveals how our primate cousins are getting drunk on fermented fruit
A urinalysis shows that these apes ingest significant amounts of alcohol, providing new clues to how alcohol influences the animals’ behavior

Newly discovered horned dinosaur was like a unicorn from hell
Spinosaurus mirabilis was a force to be reckoned with
Cats’ cancer genes show striking similarity to humans’
Researchers sequenced the genomes of tumors from almost 500 domestic cats and found remarkable parallels with human and dog cancers

Let these nine romantic animals inspire you on Valentine’s Day
These amorous creatures could put Casanova to shame—from beguiling dancing seahorses to peacocking spiders

Elephants’ peculiar whiskers help them sense the world around them
Pachyderm whiskers are more flexible at the tip than at the base, allowing elephants to complete delicate tasks with their incredibly strong trunk

Ancient seafarers helped shape Arctic ecosystems
Humans might have been sailing the sea between Greenland and Canada as long as it’s been unfrozen, archaeological evidence suggests