Protein is important for our health, but how much of it should we eat? MAXIMILIAN STOCK LTD/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY ProteinSamantha King and Gavin WeedonDuke University Press I knew protein mania had hit the mainstream when an advert for reality star Khloé Kardashian’s protein popcorn popped up (no pun intended) on the same day I heard…
March 14, 2026 3 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm Identical twins on trial: can DNA testing tell them apart? In a French criminal trial, conventional DNA analysis couldn’t distinguish between twin brothers, but emerging scientific methods could help in such cases By Rachel Fieldhouse & Nature magazine Conventional DNA testing failed to distinguish…
‘Tender … yet haunting’: Under the Eye of the Big Bird Most fiction looking into a future where humanity faces extinction is bleak. That can’t be said for the beguiling Under the Eye of the Big Bird, written by Hiromi Kawakami and translated by Asa Yoneda. This is a more tender – yet still haunting…
March 14, 2026 4 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm Fresh claim of making elusive ‘hexagonal’ diamond is the strongest yet After decades of debate, researchers say that they have found the clearest evidence yet for this rare form of carbon By Mark Peplow & Nature magazine Conventional diamond, called cubic diamond, is known…
Greenland’s Kvanefjeld site, complete with sodalite stones glowing under ultraviolet light Jonas Kako/Panos Pictures Under ultraviolet light, these sodalite stones at the Kvanefjeld mineral deposit in southern Greenland glow with an eerie luminescence against a gloomy mountainous backdrop. The shot was taken by photographer Jonas Kako on a trip to Greenland, where he was exploring…
Many people shudder at the thought of Friday the 13th. Myths, legends and horror films have turned it into an omen of bad luck. History has also had plenty of bad Friday the 13ths. On Friday, September 13, 1940, Nazi forces bombed Buckingham Palace in London. On Friday, January 13, 2012, the Italian cruise ship…
In an episode of Friends, Phoebe (left) and Joey get into a deep philosophical debate Photo 12 / Alamy If you are a person of a certain age, you might remember an episode of Friends in which aspiring actor Joey Tribbiani (played by Matt LeBlanc) is given the chance to host a charity telethon on PBS….
March 13, 2026 3 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm AI-designed experiments run by robots hint at a new approach to biology Researchers at OpenAI and Ginkgo Bioworks showed that an AI model working with an autonomous lab can design and iterate real biology experiments at unprecedented speed By Deni Ellis Béchard edited by…
Premature ejaculation is thought to affect 1 in 3 men Ievgen Chabanov / Alamy Men who experience premature ejaculation may be able to improve control and extend intercourse using a smartphone app, according to preliminary results from a small randomised trial. Premature ejaculation is considered the most common sexual dysfunction among men, estimated to affect…
How is a legacy preserved, and how is someone forgotten? Determined to make a final name for himself, Nobel Prize–winning chemist Irving Langmuir ventured into science that many would classify as what he himself called “pathological science,” or “wishful thinking,” while chemist and physicist Katharine Burr Blodgett continued her work as a diligent experimenter. But…
