Chemistry

Scientists who study organic materials from the past 55,000 years may see some changes in their data

A silk-based substance could lead to new wearables

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.

“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.

To get to the roots of disasters like this one, investigators rely on video footage, documents, interviews and other evidence

Originally published in August 1946

The blast injured thousands and killed at least 78 people

Originally published in August 1968

Originally published in February 1955

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.

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

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