"An Ichthyosaur's terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day 160 million years ago."

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Russ Roberts (https://hawaiisciencemonitor.blogspot.com).

Scientific American Content

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28

Today

An Ichthyosaur’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day 160 million years ago

2h

A rare fossil find shows a tooth embedded an ichthyosaur’s vertebra, where it was likely left when a giant pliosaurid chomped down on this dolphin-resembling reptile

Yesterday

The U.S. military needs tungsten, but pristine NASA site may stand in the way

16h

A unique landform is vital for calibrating NASA’s satellites, but it’s likely sitting atop a vast deposit of this heavy metal, which is crucial for making munitions

It’s 90 degrees in the Arctic right now

20h

The Arctic is heating faster than the rest of the planet. New data illustrate how dire that is

Cyclospora outbreak tied to two deaths as parasite-borne illness continues to rage

Cyclospora outbreak linked to Mexico

•

20h

These deaths were reported by Michigan, which has seen more than 11,000 cases of cyclosporiasis emerge since late June

Senate funding resolution seeks to put OMB rule changes to research grants on hold

22h

These proposed changes have seen significant bipartisan pushback and have been criticized by scientists across disciplines

How Antarctica's Blood Falls came to be

Blood Falls harbors marine life

•

22h

The bright, red-orange stain on Antarctica’s ice-covered landscape may trace back to ancient ocea

Cyclosporiasis cases surge while new research questions ‘protein maxxing’

1d

An outbreak of Cyclospora infections tied to produce spreads across multiple states as new research challenges the protein maxxing craze

Jul 31, 2026

Postpartum psychosis is at the center of the Lindsay Clancy trial. What is it?

Postpartum psychosis murder trial

•

3d

A high-profile court case is calling attention to this rare and understudied condition

AI helped produce two proofs for the same cryptography problem

3d

An M.I.T. Ph.D. student and two University of California system cryptographers used GPT-5.6 Sol Ultra in different ways, raising new questions about independent discovery and scientific credit

Eating less protein could help you live longer

Less protein may extend lifespan

•

3d

While “protein maxxing” is all the rage, reducing your protein intake could add years to your life

How to surf on Saturn’s moon Titan

Titan has methane rivers

•

4d

Lakes of liquid methane on Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, could offer exhilarating—and terrifying—opportunities for otherworldly surfing

Secret eruption offers tantalizing glimpse of underwater volcanoes

4d

Frothy rock floating on the ocean near Papua New Guinea is the sign scientists needed that, hidden from view, an underwater volcano was erupting

The untold science and drama of Lewis and Clark’s expedition

4d

Historian Craig Fehrman unpacks the science, politics and human stories behind one of America’s most famous expeditions

How flowers shaped the world as we know it

4d

David Haskell brings readers through millions of years of botanical history for his latest book, How Flowers Made Our World

Chilean mummies reveal a lost lineage of smallpox

Ancient mummies reveal European smallpox

•

4d

Centuries-old DNA that was found in these mummies belongs to an extinct viral lineage of smallpox that was brought across the Atlantic during European colonization of the Americas

Everyone alive may carry DNA from a ‘ghost lineage’ of human ancestors

Ghost ancestors left DNA

•

4d

Scientists analyzing modern genomes may have found a long-lost branch of the human family tree

3 charts show how extreme heat is costing us hours of lost sleep

4d

The U.S. has been pummeled with heat waves this summer. Here’s how hot overnight temperatures can get in the way of a good night’s rest—in three charts

Jul 30, 2026

Spacecraft will swarm asteroid Apophis during fateful 2029 Earth flyby

Apophis asteroid visible worldwide 2029

•

5d

Space agencies around the globe are coordinating missions to visit the asteroid Apophis during a close encounter with Earth in 2029

Jul 29, 2026

Bizarre new material discovered in Hiroshima bombing debris

5d

The extreme conditions of atomic bomb explosions create “uncontrolled microexperiments” that, in Hiroshima, forged a never-before-seen metallic alloy

Hundreds of ancient, never-before-seen ‘earthworks’ discovered in the Amazon

LiDAR reveals Amazon geoglyphs

•

5d

Many of these structures date to around C.E. 100–300, during the time of the Aquiry civilization, and may have been used for ceremonial purposes

A unique cellular trick may explain octopus intelligence

5d

A newly discovered change in ribosomal RNA makes protein production more precise, potentially safeguarding these cephalopods’ complex nervous systems

Astronomers spot best-yet example of a wandering supermassive black hole

5d

Giant black holes adrift in deep space are normally invisible—unless they’re dining on stars

Rescue mission to save NASA’s Swift space telescope is imperiled in orbit

LINK spacecraft loses control

•

5d

A private spacecraft launched to boost the decaying orbit of NASA’s Swift Observatory is now suffering from potentially mission-ending malfunctions

Neuroscientists pinpoint how smells bring back childhood memories

6d

Smell can bring back vivid childhood memories—the so-called Proust’s madeleine phenomenon—and neuroscientists now think they know why

Avocado flowers switch sex daily—now we know why

Avocado breeding gene discovered

•

6d

New work explains how avocado trees coordinate a complex reproductive strategy, switching every day between male and female

The ultimate science summer reading list

6d