Every now and again I find myself pondering the scientific veracity of pop songs. I’m a nerd, and I like music, so sometimes those worlds collide. It can be interesting to think about, and the investigation itself can be instructive—even fun! Consider, for instance, the song “I Melt with You,” by the new wave band… Continue reading If I Stop the World, Will I Melt with You?
How to Keep Gaza’s Recovery from Becoming an 80-Year Project
When wars end, attention must turn to what comes next: the daunting work of rebuilding. In Gaza, that effort will be at the scale of European cities ruined during World War II or Iraqi and Syrian cities laid waste in the war against the Islamic State. A precarious cease-fire and the 20-point peace framework have… Continue reading How to Keep Gaza’s Recovery from Becoming an 80-Year Project
10 Fascinating Math Findings of 2025
December 19, 2025 3 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm The 10 Biggest Math Breakthroughs of 2025 Hidden Fibonacci numbers, a new shape and the search for a grand unified theory of mathematics are among our choices for most exciting findings of the year By Clara Moskowitz edited by Andrea Thompson OsakaWayne Studios/Getty Images… Continue reading 10 Fascinating Math Findings of 2025
The World Is Sliding Back into Nuclear Competition
A version of this commentary was originally published in Dutch by Het Financieele Dagblad on December 21, 2025. President Donald Trump recently announced that the United States intends to resume nuclear testing. It is unclear whether this will involves new weapons systems, but the announcement underscores mounting tensions between the superpowers. The risk of a… Continue reading The World Is Sliding Back into Nuclear Competition
Get Lost in This Dazzling New Map of the Cosmos
Just nine months since its launch, NASA’s newest space telescope has unveiled a jaw-dropping map of the cosmos unlike any we have seen before. Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) is a two-year-long mission designed to study the universe in infrared light. It began science operations in… Continue reading Get Lost in This Dazzling New Map of the Cosmos
Federal Disaster Assistance Was Never Intended to Make You Whole
Americans have long viewed the federal government—and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) specifically—as a frustrating-but-central pillar supporting individuals and households after disasters. What few people understand (until too late) is that assistance from the federal government is not going to replace everything lost in a disaster. By design, it never has. And for multiple… Continue reading Federal Disaster Assistance Was Never Intended to Make You Whole
Offshore Wind Farm in China Becomes a Haven for Oysters, Barnacles, and More, Study Finds
December 19, 2025 1 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm Offshore Wind Farm in China Becomes a Haven for Oysters, Barnacles, and More, Study Finds A wind farm off the coast of China appeared to boost fish numbers and supported colonies of oysters and barnacles, according to new research By Claire Cameron edited by… Continue reading Offshore Wind Farm in China Becomes a Haven for Oysters, Barnacles, and More, Study Finds
How Many Souls Do Twins Have? And More Weird Questions
Podcast: Download MYS397: It’s Christmas week so we’re bringing you a special weird questions episode where Jimmy Akin answers questions like: Can identical twins share a soul? What happens if you’re excommunicated unfairly? Could a living soul possess someone else? Are demons capable of repentance? Are we insignificant in a vast universe—or still uniquely special?… Continue reading How Many Souls Do Twins Have? And More Weird Questions
A Real Negotiation Process
Mr. Trump has rightly turned international attention to ending the Russia-Ukraine war and taken important steps to open channels of communication at the highest levels. A key piece of the puzzle is still missing, however: a real negotiation process. The diplomacy we have seen thus far has been episodic, unstructured, and highly public. But the… Continue reading A Real Negotiation Process
How Dad’s Fitness May Be Packaged and Passed Down in Sperm RNA
In March 2025, in a preprint uploaded to biorxiv.org, Mansuy and colleagues reported that EVs in mice can transport certain RNAs, metabolites and lipids linked to early-life stress from circulating blood to sperm, with consequences for offspring. The offspring produced by these sperm cells had stress-related metabolic dysfunction as adults and bore the stress signatures… Continue reading How Dad’s Fitness May Be Packaged and Passed Down in Sperm RNA