
Long-Awaited Update Arrives for Radiocarbon Dating
Scientists who study organic materials from the past 55,000 years may see some changes in their data

Long-Awaited Update Arrives for Radiocarbon Dating
Scientists who study organic materials from the past 55,000 years may see some changes in their data

Color-Changing Ink Turns Clothes into Giant Chemical Sensors
A silk-based substance could lead to new wearables


Science Briefs from around the World
Here are some brief reports about science and technology from all over, including one from Antarctica about how there’s something funny about penguin poop.

Bread Science: A Yeasty Conversation
“Baking is applied microbiology,” according to the book Modernist Bread. During pandemic lockdowns, many people started baking their own bread. Scientific American contributing editor W. Wayt Gibbs talks about Modernist Bread, for which he was a writer and editor.

How Could the Beirut Explosion Happen? Experts Explain
To get to the roots of disasters like this one, investigators rely on video footage, documents, interviews and other evidence

Future Cars Will Be Made of Magnesium
Originally published in August 1946

What Is Ammonium Nitrate, the Chemical That Exploded in Beirut?
The blast injured thousands and killed at least 78 people

Altered Mice Breathe Water instead of Air
Originally published in August 1968

Fluoridated Water Criticized as Socialized Medicine
Originally published in February 1955

Foxes Have Dined on Our Leftovers for 30,000 Years
An analysis of fox fossils found evidence that they scavenged from wolf and bear kills until Homo sapiens supplied plenty of horse and reindeer remains.

Mexico Caves Reveal Ancient Ocher Mining
Now submerged caves in the Yucatán Peninsula contain remains of ocher-mining operations that date back at least 10,000 years.

How Your Homes and Buildings Affect You
Journalist and author Emily Anthes talks about her book The Great Indoors: The Surprising Science of How Buildings Shape Our Behavior, Health, and Happiness.