- Culture

- Education

- Evolution

- Psychology

- Neuroscience

- Book Reviews

- Mathematics

- Milky Way

- Privacy

- Fossil Fuels

- Arts

- Inequality

- History

Culture

- Curiosity, Horses and Hypochondria: Nov 2024

- Contributors to Scientific American’s December 2024 Issue: Nov 2024

- Readers Respond to the July/August 2024 Issue: Nov 2024

NOV 19, 2024, 8:00 AM EST | ARTICLE SOURCE

Curiosity, Horses and Hypochondria

Discovering weird new shapes, turning oil rigs into reefs and making the ocean absorb more greenhouse gases

By Laura Helmuth

Scientific American, December 2024

Laura Helmuth was formerly editor in chief of Scientific American. She previously worked as an editor for the Washington Post, National Geographic, Slate, Smithsonian and Science. She is a former president of the National Association of Science Writers. She is currently a member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's standing committee on advancing science communication and an advisory board member for SciLine and The Transmitter. She has a Ph.D. in cognitive neuroscience from the University of California, Berkeley. She recently won a Friend of Darwin Award from the National Center for Science Education. Follow her on Bluesky @laurahelmuth.bsky.social

This article was downloaded from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/curiosity-horses-and-hypochondria on Nov 30, 2024 at 6:22 PM EST.

NOV 19, 2024, 8:00 AM EST | ARTICLE SOURCE

Contributors to Scientific American’s December 2024 Issue

Writers, artists, photographers and researchers share the stories behind the stories

By Allison Parshall

Thomas Fuchs.

Thomas Fuchs

Allison Parshall is an associate news editor at Scientific American who often covers biology, health, technology and physics. She edits the magazine's Contributors column and weekly online Science Quizzes. As a multimedia journalist, Parshall contributes to Scientific American's podcast Science Quickly. Her work includes a three-part miniseries on music-making artificial intelligence. Her work has also appeared in Quanta Magazine and Inverse. Parshall graduated from New York University's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute with a master's degree in science, health and environmental reporting. She has a bachelor's degree in psychology from Georgetown University. Follow Parshall on X (formerly Twitter) @parshallison

This article was downloaded from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/contributors-to-scientific-americans-december-2024-issue on Nov 30, 2024 at 6:22 PM EST.

NOV 19, 2024, 8:00 AM EST | ARTICLE SOURCE

Readers Respond to the July/August 2024 Issue

Letters to the editors for the July/August 2024 issue of Scientific American

By Aaron Shattuck

Scientific American, July/August 2024

Aaron Shattuck is a senior copy editor at Scientific American.

This article was downloaded from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/readers-respond-to-the-july-august-2024-issue on Nov 30, 2024 at 6:22 PM EST.

Education

- Book Bans Harm Kids: Nov 2024

NOV 19, 2024, 9:00 AM EST | ARTICLE SOURCE

Book Bans Harm Kids

Censoring what children read deprives them of reality and the chance to feed their curiosity and develop empathy

By The Editors

Thomas Fuchs

This article was downloaded from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/book-bans-harm-kids on Nov 30, 2024 at 6:22 PM EST.

Evolution

- Learning from Great Tits' Urban Adaptability: Jun 2024

JUN 25, 2024, 7:00 AM EDT | ARTICLE SOURCE

Great Tits Show How Animals Can Thrive in Cities

One of Europe’s most common birds, the Great Tit, shows an amazing adaptability to human-made habitats. There seem to be no limits for this species when it comes to inventing new ways of acquiring food from people

By Anders Brodin

Great Tit.

Mike Lane/Alamy Stock Photo

Anders Brodin is professor in ecology at Lund University in Sweden. He has studied cognition in parids for more than 40 years, having been first intrigued by an article in Scientific American in 1983 about food hoarding and memory in them. He is systematically collecting observations from the public of interesting or unusual behavior by foraging birds. Please submit them here.

This article was downloaded from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/learning-from-great-tits-urban-adaptability on Nov 30, 2024 at 6:22 PM EST.

Psychology

- How to Reconnect with Old Friends Who Have Become Strangers: Jul 2024

JUL 12, 2024, 7:00 AM EDT | ARTICLE SOURCE

How to Reconnect with Old Friends Who Have Become Strangers

People are reluctant to reach out to friends they have lost touch with—but both sides are gratified when they reconnect

By Lara B. Aknin & Gillian M. Sandstrom

Grace Cary/Getty Images

Lara B. Aknin is a professor of social psychology and director of the Helping and Happiness Lab at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia. Her research focuses on how people can lead happier, kinder and more socially connected lives.

Gillian M. Sandstrom is a senior lecturer in the psychology of kindness at the University of Sussex in England and director of the Sussex Centre for Research on Kindness. She studies the benefits of minimal social interactions with weak ties and strangers and the barriers that prevent people from connecting. Sandstrom is author of a forthcoming book on the hidden benefits of talking to strangers.

This article was downloaded from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-to-reconnect-with-old-friends-who-have-become-strangers on Nov 30, 2024 at 6:22 PM EST.

Neuroscience

- Concussions Are Remarkably Common and Can Cause Long-Term Problems: Nov 2024

NOV 19, 2024, 9:00 AM EST | ARTICLE SOURCE

Concussions Are Remarkably Common and Can Cause Long-Term Problems

New diagnostic techniques can pick up these brain injuries and ensure people get help

By Lydia Denworth

Jay Bendt

Lydia Denworth is an award-winning science journalist and contributing editor for Scientific American. She is author of Friendship (W. W. Norton, 2020).

This article was downloaded from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/concussions-are-remarkably-common-and-can-cause-long-term-problems on Nov 30, 2024 at 6:22 PM EST.

Book Reviews

- Book Review: How Oak Trees Warn Us about the Limits of Adapting to Climate Change: Nov 2024

- Book Review: An Expansive New Translation of a Haruki Murakami Classic: Nov 2024

NOV 19, 2024, 9:00 AM EST | ARTICLE SOURCE

Book Review: How Oak Trees Warn Us about the Limits of Adapting to Climate Change

Oak trees have genetic flexibility that allows them to solve ecological problems. But even they will need our help to survive climate change

By Dana Dunham

Dana Dunham is a writer and editor based in Chicago.

This article was downloaded from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/book-review-how-oak-trees-warn-us-about-the-limits-of-adapting-to-climate-change on Nov 30, 2024 at 6:22 PM EST.

NOV 19, 2024, 9:00 AM EST | ARTICLE SOURCE

Book Review: An Expansive New Translation of a Haruki Murakami Classic

In End of the World and Hard-Boiled Wonderland, the title is flipped, but cyberpunk pleasures remain

By Matt Bell

This article was downloaded from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/book-review-an-expansive-new-translation-of-a-haruki-murakami-classic on Nov 30, 2024 at 6:22 PM EST.

Mathematics

- How a Doodler's Problem Sparked a Controversy in Math: Jul 2023

JUL 24, 2023, 10:15 AM EDT | ARTICLE SOURCE

How a Doodler’s Problem Sparked a Controversy in Math

The twisty history and surprise ending of the four-color-theorem saga

By Jack Murtagh

In this map, no two adjacent states are colored in the same hue.

June Kim

Jack Murtagh is a freelance math writer and puzzle creator. He writes a column on mathematical curiosities for Scientific American and creates daily puzzles for the Morning Brew newsletter. He holds a Ph.D. in theoretical computer science from Harvard University. Follow Jack on X @JackPMurtagh

This article was downloaded from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-a-doodlers-problem-sparked-a-controversy-in-math on Nov 30, 2024 at 6:22 PM EST.

Milky Way

- Will the Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxies Ever Collide?: Aug 2024

AUG 23, 2024, 6:45 AM EDT | ARTICLE SOURCE

Will the Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxies Ever Collide?

Andromeda and the Milky Way may collide, or they may safely swing past each other. Time will tell

By Phil Plait

A pair of far-distant colliding spiral galaxies, as seen by NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes. A similar fate may await our own Milky Way billions of years from now if it collides with our nearest neighboring spiral galaxy, Andromeda.

NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI)

Phil Plait is a professional astronomer and science communicator in Virginia. His column for Scientific American, The Universe, covers all things space. He writes the Bad Astronomy Newsletter. Follow him online.

This article was downloaded from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/will-the-milky-way-and-andromeda-galaxies-ever-collide on Nov 30, 2024 at 6:22 PM EST.

Privacy

- What Giant Data Breaches Mean for You: Sep 2024

SEP 12, 2024, 6:45 AM EDT | ARTICLE SOURCE

What Giant Data Breaches Mean for You

The security expert who created Have I Been Pwned? shares advice for protecting sensitive data

By Ben Guarino

Shideh Ghandeharizadeh

Ben Guarino is an associate technology editor at Scientific American. He writes and edits stories about artificial intelligence, robotics and our relationship with our tools. Previously, he worked as a science editor at Popular Science and a staff writer at the Washington Post, where he covered the COVID pandemic, science policy and misinformation (and also dinosaur bones and water bears). He has a degree in bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania and a master's degree from New York University's Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program.

This article was downloaded from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-giant-data-breaches-mean-for-you on Nov 30, 2024 at 6:22 PM EST.

Fossil Fuels

- Fossil Fuels Are Not Essential: Nov 2024

NOV 19, 2024, 9:00 AM EST | ARTICLE SOURCE

We Can Live without Fossil Fuels

The fossil-fuel industry argues that we can’t live without its deadly products. It is wrong

By Naomi Oreskes

Scott Brundage

Naomi Oreskes is a professor of the history of science at Harvard University. She is author of Why Trust Science? (Princeton University Press, 2019) and co-author of The Big Myth (Bloomsbury, 2023).

This article was downloaded from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fossil-fuels-are-not-essential on Nov 30, 2024 at 6:22 PM EST.

Arts

- Poem: ‘The First Bite’: Nov 2024

NOV 19, 2024, 9:00 AM EST | ARTICLE SOURCE

Poem: ‘The First Bite’

Science in meter and verse

By Gillian Neimark

Masha Foya

Gillian Neimark is a science journalist who also writes poetry and fiction. She launched her children’s imprint, Blue Jasper Editions, in 2023 with Forest Joy and Nature Explorers.

This article was downloaded from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/poem-the-first-bite on Nov 30, 2024 at 6:22 PM EST.

Inequality

- See How Close We Are to Gender Equality around the World: Nov 2024

NOV 19, 2024, 9:00 AM EST | ARTICLE SOURCE

See How Close We Are to Gender Equality around the World

U.N. statistics show progress toward the goal of gender equality but a long way left to go

By Clara Moskowitz & Federica Fragapane

Federica Fragapane

Clara Moskowitz is a senior editor at Scientific American, where she covers astronomy, space, physics and mathematics. She has been at Scientific American for a decade; previously she worked at Space.com. Moskowitz has reported live from rocket launches, space shuttle liftoffs and landings, suborbital spaceflight training, mountaintop observatories, and more. She has a bachelor's degree in astronomy and physics from Wesleyan University and a graduate degree in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Federica Fragapane is an independent information designer who specializes in creating projects and data visualizations as a freelancer. Many of her projects take an experimental approach, carefully selecting visual languages to encourage readers to engage with the narratives conveyed by the data. In 2023 three of her projects were acquired by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City, becoming part of its Permanent Collection. Her work can be found at www.be.net/federicafragapane

This article was downloaded from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/see-how-close-we-are-to-gender-equality-around-the-world on Nov 30, 2024 at 6:22 PM EST.

History

- December 2024: Science History from 50, 100 and 150 Years Ago: Nov 2024

NOV 19, 2024, 9:00 AM EST | ARTICLE SOURCE

December 2024: Science History from 50, 100 and 150 Years Ago

Alcohol in space; basking in the limelight

By Mark Fischetti

1974, How Many Aces of Spades?: “After a brief glance at this display most people report seeing three. Actually there are five. Because people expect aces of spades to be black, they tend to miss the atypical red ones. Thus do prior conditioning and experience influence perception.”

Scientific American, Vol. 231, No. 6; December 1974

Mark Fischetti has been a senior editor at Scientific American for 17 years and has covered sustainability issues, including climate, weather, environment, energy, food, water, biodiversity, population, and more. He assigns and edits feature articles, commentaries and news by journalists and scientists and also writes in those formats. He edits History, the magazine's department looking at science advances throughout time. He was founding managing editor of two spinoff magazines: Scientific American Mind and Scientific American Earth 3.0. His 2001 freelance article for the magazine, "Drowning New Orleans," predicted the widespread disaster that a storm like Hurricane Katrina would impose on the city. His video What Happens to Your Body after You Die?, has more than 12 million views on YouTube. Fischetti has written freelance articles for the New York Times, Sports Illustrated, Smithsonian, Technology Review, Fast Company, and many others. He co-authored the book Weaving the Web with Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, which tells the real story of how the Web was created. He also co-authored The New Killer Diseases with microbiologist Elinor Levy. Fischetti is a former managing editor of IEEE Spectrum Magazine and of Family Business Magazine. He has a physics degree and has twice served as the Attaway Fellow in Civic Culture at Centenary College of Louisiana, which awarded him an honorary doctorate. In 2021 he received the American Geophysical Union's Robert C. Cowen Award for Sustained Achievement in Science Journalism, which celebrates a career of outstanding reporting on the Earth and space sciences. He has appeared on NBC's Meet the Press, CNN, the History Channel, NPR News and many news radio stations. Follow Fischetti on X (formerly Twitter) @markfischetti

This article was downloaded from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/december-2024-science-history-from-50-100-and-150-years-ago on Nov 30, 2024 at 6:22 PM EST.

Table of Contents

Scientific American: December 2024 Vol. 331, Issue 5

Culture

Curiosity, Horses and Hypochondria: Nov 2024

Contributors to Scientific American’s December 2024 Issue: Nov 2024

Readers Respond to the July/August 2024 Issue: Nov 2024

Education

Book Bans Harm Kids: Nov 2024

Evolution

Learning from Great Tits' Urban Adaptability: Jun 2024

Psychology

How to Reconnect with Old Friends Who Have Become Strangers: Jul 2024

Neuroscience

Concussions Are Remarkably Common and Can Cause Long-Term Problems: Nov 2024

Book Reviews

Book Review: How Oak Trees Warn Us about the Limits of Adapting to Climate Change: Nov 2024

Book Review: An Expansive New Translation of a Haruki Murakami Classic: Nov 2024

Mathematics

How a Doodler's Problem Sparked a Controversy in Math: Jul 2023

Milky Way

Will the Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxies Ever Collide?: Aug 2024

Privacy

What Giant Data Breaches Mean for You: Sep 2024

Fossil Fuels

Fossil Fuels Are Not Essential: Nov 2024

Arts

Poem: ‘The First Bite’: Nov 2024

Inequality

See How Close We Are to Gender Equality around the World: Nov 2024

History

December 2024: Science History from 50, 100 and 150 Years Ago: Nov 2024