A New Theory for Systems That Defy Newton’s Third Law
Newton’s third law tells us that for every action, there’s an equal reaction going the opposite way. It’s been reassuring…
Writings
When Cancer is in the Family
AMY YOFFE HAS ALWAYS KNOWN that cancer runs in her family and is acutely aware of the loss that comes with it.…
Astronomer-turned-filmmaker strives to ignite an interest in space
For scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA, the night of January 3, 2004 entailed six minutes of…
How to poison a feral pig
EARLY ONE WINTER MORNING in 2020, Kurt VerCauteren discovered a cluster of dead birds in a barren field in northwest Texas.…
Unmasking the pandemic’s pollution problem
Tanveer Adyel began to notice the trash in March. This was early in the COVID-19 pandemic. He saw latex gloves and…
Cancer Care’s Virtual Revolution
AT SUNRISE ON MARCH 4, 2020, the same day the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in Houston and one week before…
Mathematicians Resurrect Hilbert’s 13th Problem
Success is rare in math. Just ask Benson Farb. “The hard part about math is that you’re failing 90% of the…
When Scientific American Made M. C. Escher Famous
Between 1957 and 1986 Martin Gardner wrote the Mathematical Games column for this magazine, with a total of 297 installments.…
The Golden Riffleshell’s Appalachian Roadtrip
The emergency surgery took place in the back of a modified pickup truck in a McDonald’s parking lot in Pikeville,…
Flash Radiotherapy Is (Finally) on the Way
Since the 1960s, the dream of ultra-fast high dose radiation promised better cancer treatment with fewer side effects. Will the…