Where does math come from? Mathematicians are still debating whether math is an inherent part of nature or an invention of the human mind. Mathematics communicator and drag queen Kyne will guide you through the question of what math really is in this three-part Friday miniseries. Recommended reading: – Gift Wrapping Five Oranges Has Outwitted the Best Minds in Mathematics for Generations  – The SAT Problem That Everybody Got Wrong E-mail us at [email protected] if you have any...

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) affects up to five million people in the U.S., yet it remains poorly understood. Many people with PCOS go undiagnosed while experiencing symptoms such as irregular periods, changes in hair and body shape, acne and infertility. Even after a diagnosis, they’re often told to lose weight to manage symptoms—advice that some researchers now say can be harmful.  A recent study found that people with PCOS are more likely to have eating disorders, regardless of their...

In this week’s news roundup: Earth might have previously had a giant ring of space rocks like the one around Saturn, “scuba diving” lizards are using bubbles to breathe, and a new study mapped brain changes in a person throughout pregnancy. Additionally, we describe how NASA’s stranded astronauts will vote from space. E-mail us at [email protected] if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific...

Mathematics communicator and drag queen Kyne Santos will help you discover the beauty and power of math in this three-part Friday miniseries. Kyne takes us back to ancient Greece to illustrate the elegance of mathematics. We meet mathematician Tom Crawford, who combines fieldwork and modeling to predict the impacts of pollution, as well as philosopher and logician Mark Jago.  Recommended reading: – Gift Wrapping Five Oranges Has Outwitted the Best Minds in Mathematics for Generations – The...

In recognition of Prostate Cancer Awareness Month this September, host Rachel Feltman sits down with Alfred Winkler, chief of urology at NewYork-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital, to discuss proactive steps individuals can take to protect themselves against prostate cancer. Black American men, in particular, face some of the highest rates of the disease in the world, with multiple factors contributing to this elevated risk. This episode explores efforts to raise awareness and promote...

This week's news roundup: The European Space Agency’s Juice mission tested its instruments with a flyby of Earth in preparation for studying habitability on moons of Jupiter’. Also, a study found that Massachusetts has reduced food waste through composting and enforcement while four other states have not successfully done so despite also having bans on disposing of such waste in landfills. And researchers tested the generative artificial intelligence platform GPT-4 Turbo’s ability to counter...

Science Quickly host Rachel Feltman interviewed NASA flight engineer Matthew Dominick live—from space! In this first-ever interview conducted from the International Space Station’s (ISS’s) iconic cupola, Dominick talks about his path to space, his experience on the ISS and his incredible astrophotography. You can listen to the full video and watch the changing light from the cupola at the link below. Watch the First-Ever Interview from the ISS Cupola...

Content warning: This episode contains some details about the 9/11 attacks and victims’ remains. Twenty-three years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, forensic scientists are still working to identify victims from the World Trade Center site. Host Rachel Feltman speaks with Kathleen Corrado, forensics executive director at Syracuse University’s College of Arts & Sciences, about what unique challenges have been posed by the massive scale of the tragedy and how the lessons learned are now...

In this week’s new roundup, a new study finds no clear connection between phone use and brain or head cancers, putting some fears to rest. Meanwhile Sweden’s new screen-time guidelines suggest keeping kids under age two away from screens entirely and limiting time for older children—and echo concerns from other countries about how much time young people spend on devices. Also, jellyfish clones are invading lakes in British Columbia, Oregon faces its worst measles outbreak in three decades,...

As people live longer and family sizes shrink, fewer relatives are available to share the burden of caregiving for aging loved ones. The second episode of our two-part miniseries on caregiving explores what this means for the family members who take on this critical role. How do they provide the best care while also maintaining their own well-being? To hear firsthand how caregivers are navigating this challenge, Lauren Young and Tanya Lewis, Scientific American’s respective associate and...