Rachel Feltman is former executive editor of Popular Science and forever host of the podcast The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week. She previously founded the blog Speaking of Science for the Washington Post.
Enceladus’s Alien Ocean, Ancient Fungi and the Flavor of Influenza
Saturn’s moon Enceladus shows signs of life-supporting chemistry, fungi may have shaped Earth before plants, and repeat COVID infections raise long-term health risks for kids.
Go Inside a Room That Lets You Hear Your Nervous System
Step into a room so quiet you can hear your own heartbeat—and your nervous system.
Why Top CDC Experts Are Resigning, and What It Means for Public Health
The former director of a CDC center reveals how political ideology is undermining science, threatening vaccine policy and endangering public health across the U.S.
Trump’s Tylenol Claim Sparks FDA Action—But What Does the Research Say?
The Food and Drug Administration plans to update the safety label for acetaminophen products, and the strongest storm on Earth this year struck several countries in East and Southeast Asia.
A Composer’s ‘Brain’ Makes Music Years after His Death
A museum exhibit in Australia lets visitors hear music generated by brain cells derived from the blood of a dead composer.
Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy with Mary Roach
Mary Roach unpacks the millennia-long effort to replace failing body parts—and the reasons that modern medicine still struggles to match the original designs.
Vaccine Policy Shift, Brain Changes in Athletes and Ants That Harness Another Species’ DNA
A revamped CDC advisory committee faces vaccine debates, studies reveal brain changes in athletes, and climate change drives deadly heat waves across Europe.
The Linguistic Science behind Viral Social Media Slang
Linguist Adam Aleksic explains how viral slang and algorithm-driven speech aren’t destroying language––they’re accelerating its natural evolution.
Can Your Microbiome Affect Your Mood?
Scientists are uncovering how your gut might be shaping your thoughts, feelings and cravings.
Kissing Bugs, Koalas and Clues to Life on Mars
Kissing bugs are creeping across the U.S.—and they’re bringing Chagas disease with them.
How Your Brain Constructs—And Sometimes Distorts—Your Experience of the World
In his new book, Daniel Yon explains how our brain is constantly constructing reality
Alpha-Gal Syndrome Explained: The Tick-Borne Allergy Affecting Diets Worldwide
A single tick bite can trigger a bizarre meat allergy—here’s how alpha-gal syndrome is reshaping people’s diets.
Marsquakes, Vaccine Politics and Mammoth Microbiomes
A common nasal spray shows promise in reducing COVID risk, but vaccine access remains tangled in policy in the U.S.
Experts Warn of Growing Threats amid CDC Resignations
With the CDC in disarray and its future uncertain, this episode explores what’s driving the exodus of agency staff and what this means for national health security.
How to Read Hurricane Maps and Avoid Common Mistakes
Hurricane forecast maps are more complex than they appear. Understanding them could change how you prepare for the next storm.
The Storm That Drowned a City—And the Science That Saw It Coming
Two decades after Katrina, we revisit the storm and discuss the evolution of hurricane preparedness since then.
Mining the Deep Sea Could Threaten a Source of Ocean Oxygen
Deep-sea rocks packed with valuable metals may also be making oxygen in the deep, dark ocean—raising new questions about the cost of mining them.
Scientific American Celebrates 180 Years with Stories of Scientific U-turns
In honor of SciAm’s 180th birthday, we’re spotlighting the biggest “wait, what?” moments in science history.
The Mystery of America’s Peanut Allergy Surge—And the Promising Science behind New Treatments
Peanut allergies more than tripled in U.S. kids between the late 1990s and late 2000s, and the prevalence has risen even more since then. Scientists are still searching for answers—and new ways to treat them.
What Can Nature Teach Us about Sex and Gender?
Traditional biology has long ignored nature’s sexual diversity—but evolution tells a far more complex story.
Chikungunya Outbreak, Glacial Outbursts and a New Human Ancestor
China is having a fast-rising chikungunya outbreak in a place that has never had one before.
Sam Kean’s New Book Dinner with King Tut Explores the Wild World of Experimental Archaeology
In his new book, Sam Kean reveals how re-creating ancient tools, techniques and traditions can unlock secrets about how our ancestors lived—and what they felt.
This Hormone-Free Pill Could Finally Expand Birth Control Options for Men
A new hormone-free birth control pill that reversibly stops sperm production has passed its first safety trial in humans, offering hope for more reversible contraceptive options.
Rogue Worlds May Not Be So Lonely After All, Europa Clipper Completes Key Test, and RFK, Jr., Pulls $500 Million in mRNA Vaccine Funding
From planets roaming space to major shifts in health funding, catch up with this week’s news roundup.