Chalk up another victory for “Conan the Bacterium”—a rugged germ that fresh research suggests could conquer the solar system. Better known as Deinococcus radiodurans, this microbe is arguably the toughest organism known to science. Past studies have shown it can endure extreme cold, intense radiation, harsh chemicals and profound dehydration—all evolutionary adaptations, perhaps, to what’s…
Magic mushrooms are one of the psychedelics showing real medical potential John Moore/Getty Images A single dose of psilocybin – the active ingredient in magic mushrooms – produces rapid reductions in symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), according to the first placebo-controlled trial to test the psychedelic for the mental health condition. The effects also seem…
Homegrown chickpeas could be on the menu for future astronauts. With help from compost and symbiotic fungi, chickpea plants grow and produce seeds in simulated lunar dirt, researchers report March 5 in Scientific Reports. “I’m obsessed with the plant,” says fluid dynamicist Sara Oliveira Santos of the University of Texas at Austin. “The fact that…
Katharine Burr Blodgett’s relatives lead the Lost Women of Science production team to a collection of papers and artifacts stored in a New England storage unit, revealing an inner struggle that she kept carefully out of sight—even as she was making history in the laboratory. LISTEN TO THE PODCAST On supporting science journalism If you’re…
X and Y chromosomes can compete against each other to skew sex ratios in their favour KATERYNA KON/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY You probably know of a family where the children are almost all boys, or all girls. In most cases, it is just due to chance, but an analysis of a family in Utah going back…
March 5, 2026 3 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm Stand Up for Science plans second rally on March 7 Public health chaos and research funding cuts are inspiring nationwide pro-science protests against the Trump administration By Meghan Bartels edited by Claire Cameron A scene from the “Stand Up For Science” held in New…
Feedback is New Scientist’s popular sideways look at the latest science and technology news. You can submit items you believe may amuse readers to Feedback by emailing feedback@newscientist.com A shedload of bears Following the use of golden retrievers as a unit of ice mass, Feedback has found our inbox filling up with more examples of…
Kendra Pierre-Louis: For Scientific American’s Science Quickly, I’m Kendra Pierre-Louis, in for Rachel Feltman. AI is everywhere. It’s in your phones, in your Internet searches, in defense software. And it’s expanding. The big tech giants—Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta and Amazon—are planning on spending nearly $700 billion this year alone on building out AI infrastructure. And yet,…
How can we spot if someone is lying to us? There are no easy tells Margarita Young/Alamy Poisonous PeopleLeanne ten BrinkeSimon & Schuster It seems only fitting that a book about dark personalities opens with the case study of a psychopath. But the author’s choice isn’t who you might have been expecting. Instead of a…
March 4, 2026 2 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm A Bill Gates–backed nuclear power plant just got cleared to start building TerraPower, a start-up founded by Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates, is set to build a new kind of nuclear power plant in Wyoming By Claire Cameron edited by Jeanna Bryner Photo…
