Al Hajar Mountains in Oman L_B_Photography/Shutterstock A section of Earth’s mantle beneath Oman appears to be unusually warm, in what researchers say may be the first known “ghost plume” – a column of hot rock emanating from the lower mantle without apparent volcanic activity on the surface. Mantle plumes are mysterious upwellings of molten rock…
Could Iran Have Been Close to Making a Nuclear Weapon? Uranium Enrichment Explained When Israeli aircraft recently struck a uranium-enrichment complex in the nation, Iran could have been days away from achieving “breakout,” the ability to quickly turn “yellowcake” uranium into bomb-grade fuel, with its new high-speed centrifuges By Deni Ellis Béchard edited by Dean…
A dangerous strain of bird flu is spreading in US livestock MediaMedium/Alamy Since Donald Trump assumed office in January, the leading US public health agency has pulled back preparations for a potential bird flu pandemic. But as it steps back, another government agency is stepping up. While the US Department of Health and Human Services…
The following essay is reprinted with permission from The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research. As summer arrives, people are turning on air conditioners in most of the U.S. But if you’re like me, you always feel a little guilty about that. Past generations managed without air conditioning – do I really need…
Controlling giant atoms could lead to more powerful quantum computers koto_feja/iStockphoto/Getty Images Giant atoms just got a boost as contenders for making the best quantum simulators and computers, as researchers controlled them for an unprecedentedly long time for a room-temperature experiment. Grab an atom, tune its quantum properties with electromagnetic pulses or laser light –…
A cool house without air conditioning may soon be possible. Scientists in Singapore have developed a new type of paint that reflects sunlight and cools surfaces by slowly evaporating water. Unlike other commercially available cooling paints, which are designed to repel water to protect the underlying material, the new one even works in hot, humid…
CLIMATEWIRE | The world’s richest nations are gathering Sunday in the Canadian Rockies for a summit that could reveal whether President Donald Trump’s policies are shaking global climate efforts. The Group of Seven meeting comes at a challenging time for international climate policy. Trump’s tariff seesaw has cast a shade over the global economy, and…
Are machines about to become smarter than humans? Chan2545/iStockphoto/Getty Images If you take the leaders of artificial intelligence companies at their word, their products mean that the coming decade will be quite unlike any in human history: a golden era of “radical abundance”, where high-energy physics is “solved” and we see the beginning of space…
People trying to lose weight often count calories, carbs, steps and reps and watch the scales. Soon, they may have another number to consider: a genetic score indicating how many calories a person needs to feel full during a meal. This score may help predict whether someone will lose more weight on the drugs liraglutide…
Rachel Feltman: For Scientific American’s Science Quickly, I’m Rachel Feltman. Parental care is costly. It uses up precious time, energy and resources—and in the animal world, it’s usually the moms who bear the brunt of it. For most mammals, the concept of fatherhood begins and ends at conception. So what drives a father to defy…
