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Science News Briefs from around the World: June 2023

Chernobyl’s adaptable canines, sewage sea spray in the U.S., hibernating germs on Everest, and much more in this month’s Quick Hits

Answering Questions about Boring Numbers, Disasters, Fusion, and More

How electrons move, multiple personalities form and hookworms spread among pet dogs

Readers Respond to the February 2023 Issue

Letters to the editors for the February 2023 issue of Scientific American

The Science Is Clear: Gun Control Saves Lives

By enacting simple laws that make guns safer and harder to get, we can prevent killings like the ones in Uvalde and Buffalo

Readers Respond to the January 2023 Issue

Letters to the editor for the January 2023 issue of Scientific American

An Inclusive Research Environment Starts at the Top

For academic research to be truly equitable, leadership, not just the scientists from underrepresented groups, must advocate for it

Science Shows Why Traditional Kimchi Making Works So Well

A new study reveals why handmade fermentation vessels called onggi stand the test of time

Science News Briefs from around the World: May 2023

Mistaken fossil identity in India, decrypted letters of an imprisoned Scottish queen, marsupials seeking marsupials Down Under, and more in this month’s Quick Hits

Will Creationism Continue to Flourish in Brazil?

Under former president Jair Bolsonaro, scientific misinformation ran rampant through Brazil. And even with new leadership, it will be difficult to stop

Who Invented the Measurement of Time?

The first timekeeping devices were probably natural materials lost to the ages, but the ancient Egyptians were the first to leave records of their timekeeping methods

How This AI Image Won a Major Photography Competition

Boris Eldagsen submitted an artificial-intelligence-generated image to a photography contest as a “cheeky monkey” and sparked a debate about AI’s place in the art world...

New Understandings of Witch Trials, Synthetic Morphology and the Moons of Jupiter

Physicists attempt to weigh a vacuum and resolve the “worst theoretical prediction in the history of physics”

A Sightseeing Tour of the Universe, Mutated Underground Creatures, Boy Raised by Forest Androids, Gigantic Fish, Perfume's Vitality

Reviews from the editors of Scientific American

Readers Respond to the December 2022 Issue

Letters to the editor for the December 2022 issue of Scientific American

The Best Habitats for Whales, Leopards and Office Workers

Strangely real imaginary numbers, an unsung founder of quantum physics and an endless AI conversation

What an Endless Conversation with Werner Herzog Can Teach Us about AI

An AI-generated conversation between Werner Herzog and Slavoj Žižek is definitely entertaining, but it also illustrates the crisis of misinformation beginning to befall us

This Spiritual Tradition Could Be the Most Poetic Bereavement Therapy Ever Documented

A mourning ritual of dialogues with the dead speaks to the fragility of theological diversity

International Sports Need to Prioritize Sustainability

Events like the World Cup can emit millions of metric tons of carbon dioxide, but it doesn’t have to be that way

A Year of Wonder, Awe and Discovery

The Leap Second’s Time Is Up: World Votes to Stop Pausing Clocks

How, and whether, to keep atomic time in sync with Earth’s rotation is still up for debate