December 17, 2025 4 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm New Views of Solar System Moons Complicate Ocean Worlds Theory Oceans hiding within the crusts of distant moons are tantalizing targets for scientists looking for life beyond Earth By Meghan Bartels edited by Sarah Lewin Frasier Titan (left) and Europa (right). Left: NASA/JPL/University of… Continue reading New Views of Solar System Moons Complicate Ocean Worlds Theory
Why Many Would Sooner Sleep Divorce Their Partner Than Their Pet
This commentary was originally published by Salt Lake Tribune on January 11, 2026. As a sleep researcher, clinician and book author who specializes in couples and sleep, I am frequently asked whether it is “bad” for couples to sleep in separate beds. Underlying this question is often an implicit request for reassurance, even permission, to… Continue reading Why Many Would Sooner Sleep Divorce Their Partner Than Their Pet
Cells Use ‘Bioelectricity’ To Coordinate and Make Group Decisions
While Galvani was later proven wrong in the details, he wasn’t totally off. Virtually every cell on every branch of the tree of life expends a hefty chunk of its energy budget — in some cells, more than half — on maintaining a voltage across its membrane. The voltage difference that results, called the membrane… Continue reading Cells Use ‘Bioelectricity’ To Coordinate and Make Group Decisions
Prospects for Lasting Peace Between Armenia and Azerbaijan?
While the eyes of the world were focused on the spiralling conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine in 2025, progress was being made towards tentative peace elsewhere—between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Armenia-Azerbaijan peace agreement, mediated by President Trump in August 2025, has the potential to transform one of the most intractable conflicts on the… Continue reading Prospects for Lasting Peace Between Armenia and Azerbaijan?
This Planet Is the Shape of a Lemon. That May Be the Least Weird Thing about It
December 17, 2025 2 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm This Planet Is the Shape of a Lemon. That May Be the Least Weird Thing about It Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have discovered a bizarre-looking exoplanet that defies explanation By Claire Cameron edited by Jeanna Bryner Image courtesy of NASA/ESA/CSA/Ralf Crawford/STScI… Continue reading This Planet Is the Shape of a Lemon. That May Be the Least Weird Thing about It
Un-Retiring: How Older Workers Could Solve Rural America’s Labor Crisis
Ed Chandler, 73, worked most of his life in a West Virginia factory. It didn’t take long for him to get bored when he retired. “You can only cut so much grass and piddle around in the garden so much,” he said. So he did what a growing number of older Americans are doing. He… Continue reading Un-Retiring: How Older Workers Could Solve Rural America’s Labor Crisis
Using AI, Mathematicians Find Hidden Glitches in Fluid Equations
Nearly 200 years ago, the physicists Claude-Louis Navier and George Gabriel Stokes put the finishing touches on a set of equations that describe how fluids swirl. And for nearly 200 years, the Navier-Stokes equations have served as an unimpeachable theory of how fluids in the real world behave — from ocean currents threading their way… Continue reading Using AI, Mathematicians Find Hidden Glitches in Fluid Equations
Tech Can Avert Catastrophic Fires. What’s Missing Is Coordination
This commentary was originally published by Los Angeles Times on January 7, 2026. A year ago Los Angeles woke up to a red sky. Schools closed, and families packed into cars not knowing when or if they would return. In the end many couldn’t. The series of destructive fires that lasted throughout January also hurt… Continue reading Tech Can Avert Catastrophic Fires. What’s Missing Is Coordination
Jared Isaacman Confirmed to Head NASA at Pivotal Moment for the Space Agency
December 17, 2025 2 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm Jared Isaacman Confirmed to Head NASA at Pivotal Moment for Space Science Billionaire Jared Isaacman is taking the reins at NASA at a challenging time for the space agency, as it faces budget cuts and technical hurdles that could scuttle its most ambitious missions… Continue reading Jared Isaacman Confirmed to Head NASA at Pivotal Moment for the Space Agency
Alone Together for Christmas 2025
Podcast: Download MYS399: Are Ouija boards really paranormal? Does God know what time it is? And is dark matter real — or is gravity wrong? Continuing his Christmas tradition of spending the holiday with those spending it alone, Jimmy Akin tackles these and many more questions posed by listeners with reason, faith, and curiosity. Get… Continue reading Alone Together for Christmas 2025