The New Story of the Milky Way’s Surprisingly Turbulent Past
The latest star maps are rewriting the story of our Milky Way, revealing a much more tumultuous history than astronomers suspected
Volume 330, Issue 2
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Features
Tiny Fossils Reveal Dinosaurs’ Lost Worlds
Special assemblages of minuscule fossils bring dinosaur ecosystems to life
Tomorrow’s Quantum Computers Threaten Today’s Secrets. Here’s How to Protect Them
Researchers are racing to create codes so complex that even quantum computers can’t break them
Brains Are Not Required When It Comes to Thinking and Solving Problems—Simple Cells Can Do It
Tiny clumps of cells show basic cognitive abilities, and some animals can remember things after losing their head
Why Aren’t We Made of Antimatter?
To understand why the universe is made of matter and not antimatter, physicists are looking for a tiny signal in the electron
Inside the Crime Rings Trafficking Sand
Organized crime is mining sand from rivers and coasts to feed demand worldwide, ruining ecosystems and communities. Can it be stopped?
Departments
Advances
New Map Reveals Secrets of Io, the Solar System's Most Volcanic Moon
Bilingualism Is Reworking This Language's Rainbow
'Living Fossil' Lizards Are Constantly Evolving--You Just Can't See It
Psychiatric Disorders Spike After Gun Violence
Waiting to Cut the Cord Boosts Premature Babies' Survival
Bacteria Make Decisions Based on Generational Memories
Here's Why Infants Are Strangely Resistant to COVID
This Bat Uses Its Oversized Penis as an 'Arm' during Sex
Even 'Twilight Zone' Coral Reefs Aren't Safe from Bleaching
Elephantnose Fish 'Sees' by Doing an Electric Boogie
Science News Briefs from around the World: February 2024
What This Graph of a Dinosaur Can Teach Us about Doing Better Science
Planetary Science
A Quantum Clock That Is Ticking Down, the Turbulent Milky Way and Dinosaur Lives
Culture
Readers Respond to the October 2023 Issue
Health Care
Hospice Providers Must Be Better Regulated
Artificial Intelligence
AI Causes Real Harm. Let's Focus on That over the End-of-Humanity Hype
Psychology
Learning to Accept Discomfort Could Help You Thrive
Genetics
How Hot Is 'Pepper X'? Its Creator Spent 6 Hours Recovering from Eating It
Biotech
A-fib--a Rapid, Irregular Heartbeat--Can Kill You, but New Tech Can Spot It
Astronomy
See JWST's Spectacular New View of the Crab Nebula
Conservation
Environmental Protection Does Not Kill Jobs
Arts
Poem: 'Midlife Calculus'
Puns, Pranks and Puerile Humor: Silly Stories about Serious Science
The Troubling Mysteries at the Heart of Nuclear Bombs
Climate Change
Visualizing Climate Disasters' Surprising Cascading Effects
History