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Vol. 204 No. 3

Science Visualized

Notebook

Features

More Stories from the August 26, 2023 issue

  1. Two men, one holding a child, stand with a wildfire burning in the background
    Health & Medicine

    Climate change puts children’s health at risk now and in the future

    Heat waves, wildfires and other climate-related effects on the environment are particularly hard on children’s physical and mental health.

    By
  2. A photo of two cars parked next to each other. The car on the left is covered by a large white tarp that is wrapped around it while the car on the right is pink and exposed.
    Materials Science

    This ‘thermal cloak’ keeps spaces from getting either too hot or cold

    A new thermal fabric prototype could help keep cars, buildings and other spaces a comfortable temperature during heat waves while reducing CO₂ emissions.

    By
  3. An illustration of the BepiColombo probe with Mercury in the background.
    Planetary Science

    A rain of electrons causes Mercury’s X-ray auroras

    The first direct measurement of electrons raining down on Mercury suggests this particle precipitation causes most auroras in the solar system.

    By
  4. Hubble telescope image showing a blue trail of dust behind the asteroid Dimorphos (also blue), with circles showing new boulders around the asteroid
    Planetary Science

    NASA’s DART mission lofted a swarm of boulders into space

    Hubble telescope images of the asteroid Dimorphos reveal a halo of 37 dim, newfound objects — most likely boulders shaken loose from the surface.

    By
  5. A photo of a person's hands cupped around a pile of multicolored pills.
    Health & Medicine

    Many sports supplements have no trace of their key ingredients

    A chemical analysis of 57 supplements found that 40 percent had undetectable amounts of key ingredients. Only 11 percent had accurate amounts.

    By
  6. A photo of a brown and white cow standing in a grass field with other cows visible in the background.
    Climate

    Cow poop emits climate-warming methane. Adding red algae may help

    Adding a type of methane-inhibiting red algae directly to cow feces cut down methane emission from the poop by about 44 percent, researchers report.

    By
  7. A photo of several bees sitting on top of a honey comb structure.
    Math

    How geometry solves architectural problems for bees and wasps

    Adding five - and seven - sided cells in pairs during nest building helps the colonyfit together differently sized hexa gonal cells , a new study shows.

    By
  8. An ancient saddle against a white backdrop with a colorful bar for scale
    Archaeology

    The oldest known horseback riding saddle was found in a grave in China

    The well-used saddle, dated to more than 2,400 years ago, displays skilled leather- and needlework. Its placement suggests its owner was on a final ride.

    By
  9. A photo of Lejía Lake with the volcanoes Aguas Calientes and Acamarachi in the background.
    Environment

    The most intense sunlight on Earth can be found in the Atacama Desert

    On the Chilean Altiplano plateau, every square meter of the ground receives, on average, more solar power than Mount Everest and occasionally almost as much as Venus.

    By
  10. A close up photo of a newfound millipede on a dark background with part of a silver coin in the top left corner.
    Animals

    The newfound Los Angeles thread millipede is ready for its close-up

    Found in Southern California, Illacme socal is the third of its genus found in North America, with the rest of its relatives scattered around the world.

    By
  11. An illustration of young Benjamin Franklin at the printing press.
    Chemistry

    How Benjamin Franklin fought money counterfeiters

    Researchers are confirming some of the techniques that Benjamin Franklin and his associates used to help early American paper currency succeed.

    By