Math puzzle: The Ant Goes Marching
Solve the math puzzle from our June 2026 issue, where an ant navigates the surface of various objects to find the shortest path to her
Category: Science
Can AI really simulate human thinking? Research casts doubt on an influential study, suggesting an advanced model was just really good at memorizing patterns.
A study published in July 2025 claimed the Centaur AI model could simulate and predict human behavior with astonishing accuracy. A counter study raises doubts.
One of Neptune’s 16 moons is not like the others, James Webb telescope finds — and it could be key to fully understanding the solar system
Neptune has a complicated life story, and its moon Nereid might be the only one left standing from the planet’s multibillion-year history.
A transition may be looming for a massive Italian volcano
Campi Flegrei, a volcanic caldera near Naples, is speeding toward a transition, a new study suggests, but there are still a lot of questions as
As floods get worse, Britain tries a new solution: beavers
About 400 years ago, beavers were hunted to extinction across Britain. Now they’re being reintroduced as little climate warriors, as communities harness their dam-building skills
COVID is shaping Americans’ reaction to Ebola and hantavirus
Some Americans seem to be extra-alarmed about Ebola and hantavirus in the wake of COVID-19. But public health experts say they don’t expect another pandemic
Scientists discover deadly, highly venomous box jellyfish near Singapore’s ‘Island of Death Behind’
Researchers identified a new species of box jellyfish and recorded a surprising range expansion for the Thai sea wasp after analyzing the morphology and DNA
Screening all kids for type 1 diabetes can catch more cases early
Identifying children with early signs of type 1 diabetes makes a difference to their health. A new study suggests wider screening is effective.
Seabirds weren’t fooled by a scarecrow-like buoy with rotating eyes
A tall buoy with a rotating pair of eyes was supposed to scare birds away from caught fish. Like scarecrows, it didn’t work for long.
There’s a new T. rex from the dinosaur age — and it ruled the seas with a skull-crushing bite
The newly described mosasaur Tylosaurus rex spanned up to 43 feet (13 meters) long and may have been one of the fiercest marine predators of
800-year-old ‘hugging skeletons’ are genetically confirmed as Poland’s only medieval same-sex double burial
Two skeletons found in an embrace next to a 13th-century Polish cathedral were both women, an ancient DNA analysis confirms, but their relationship remains a
‘I have no doubt that life is out there’: Why radio astronomers are convinced alien contact is only a matter of time
In the book “The Echoing Universe: How Radio Astronomy Helps Us See the Invisible Cosmos,” astrophysicist Emma Chapman describes the hidden corners of space that
Psyche Spacecraft Completes Mars Flyby
NASA’s Psyche spacecraft completed its close approach of Mars on May 15, capturing images as it came within 2,864 miles (4,609 kilometers) of the planet’s
How Ecotypes Harbor the Genetic Memory of a Species’ Past
When she was a graduate student in the 1970s, the evolutionary biologist Kerstin Johannesson regularly walked the shores of a Swedish archipelago, scanning the ground