For wild chase scenes, it’s hard to beat Doctor Strange. In this 2016 film, the fictional doctor-turned-sorcerer has to stop villains who want to destroy reality. To further complicate matters, the evildoers have unusual powers of their own. “The bad guys in the film have the power to reshape the world around them,” explains Alexis Wajsbrot. He’s a […]
How math makes movies like Doctor Strange so otherworldly Read More »
Justin Burton’s fascination with soap bubbles began in Barcelona, Spain, six summers ago. “It was hot and humid, and there were guys on the street making these huge bubbles,” he says. “I thought it was the coolest thing.” When he returned home, his sister gave him a giant bubble wand. It included a recipe for
Scientists find the secret to colossal bubbles Read More »
When you imagine a robot, you might picture R2-D2 in Star Wars, the Omnidroid from The Incredibles or the big-armed machines that build cars on an assembly line. But there’s a new robotic system that doesn’t resemble any of these. Instead, it looks like some kids forgot to pick up their toys. The robot is a collection of plastic, neon-green
This robot’s parts are helpless alone, but turn smart as they team up Read More »
Every year, the Joint Mathematics Meeting brings more than 5,000 math lovers together. It’s the largest math meeting in the world. In January 2019, mathematicians flocked to the meeting in Baltimore, Md., to learn about new ideas and talk about their work. Many even — believe it or not — came to admire the latest
For these artists, math is their muse Read More »
Climate and weather are related — but not the same. Climate describes patterns of weather in an area over long stretches of time. Weather refers to specific events, such as hot days or thunderstorms. Heat waves, droughts, wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes and floods are all examples of extreme weather. When extreme weather occurs, people often want to know if climate
What is attribution science? Read More »
The sun hurls giant plasma cannonballs at the Earth. What’s the worst that can happen? In the darkest hours of March 13, 1989, people all across North America noticed something odd overhead. They called friends and neighbors, asking the same question. Have you seen the sky? From New York to Florida, Cuba and Honduras, people
Space weather forecast: Big storms ahead Read More »
November is election time, and not only for voters in the United States. On November 16, hundreds of scientists will gather in Paris, France, for the most unusual election this year, if not this century. Maybe ever. The voting scientists won’t be choosing new leaders or passing new laws. They’ll be voting on something more
Scientist vote to fix the world’s weight-loss problem Read More »
Around the world, rising seas pose a major threat to coastal communities. Flooding will likely become worse, damaging buildings where people live and work. People who reside near the ocean have to change the way they live and build, or get out altogether. Here are how a few coastal communities are facing climate change by
How three coastal communities are dealing with rising seas Read More »
Armies of zombie computers caused a lot of mayhem in 2018. In January, one cluster of infected, connected machines attacked the three biggest banks in the Netherlands. The attack crippled computer systems and left customers uncertain about their money. In February, a website for computer programmers, called Github, was knocked offline by a network of
Rise of the botnets Read More »
As wildfires grow in number and intensity, scientists look for the fingerprints of global warming The biggest fire in California history ignited shortly after noon on July 27, 2018, and burned until mid-September. Called the Mendocino Complex Fire, its twin infernos started at the same time. They also burned close to one another and quickly
Is climate change fanning megafires? Read More »
