Plus, 9/11 survivors are still getting sick—here are the numbers ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
September 11, 2026—"Odd couple" black holes, 9/11-related illnesses and 60-sided dice for random turn-ordering in games.
—Robin Lloyd,
Contributing Editor
|
|
An unidentified New York City firefighter walks away from Ground Zero after the collapse of the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, in New York City. Anthony Correia/Getty Images
|
|
Twenty-five years after the 9/11 attacks, survivors are still getting sick and seeking care for myriad illnesses, including cancers and post-traumatic stress disorder (scroll down to see an infographic). | 5 min read
It is unusual not to see a single hurricane form in the Atlantic by September 11. But that’s exactly what has happened this year for the very first time since reliable records began. | 2 min read
An Anthropic researcher quit over fears of runaway AI. His colleague agreed. Security experts argue that the incidents already on record call for tighter oversight, not panic. | 4 min read
"Odd couple" black holes can find each other in space, according to two studies that found these strange binary systems. | 2 min read
Giant armored crustaceans survive thanks to a gene stolen from bacteria. Scientists have long wondered how these bizarre creatures endured for years without food. | 2 min read
El Niño is fueling wildfires in Indonesia, leaving some 100,000 people ill or injured. The fires are burning peatlands, which can release more particulate matter than other wildfires. | 2 min read
NASA’s mighty gamma-ray burst hunter, the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, will be destroyed as it reenters Earth’s atmosphere no later than December, leaving a gap in our view of the high-energy sky. | 5 min read
|
|
Eric Harshbarger stands in front of the carved Go First Dice sculpture. Office of Communications and Marketing, Auburn University
|
|
Go First Dice
A sculpture of a set of five 60-sided “Go First Dice” is now on display at a new STEM complex at Auburn University. Devised by an Auburn mathematician Eric Harshbarger, the dice solve the tricky math problem of randomly determining who goes first in game play with only one roll. He has partnered with a manufacturer to make and sell them.
Why this is interesting: Go First Dice vary with the number of players, writes Scientific American editorial fellow Peter Hall. “The version in the sculpture is a set of five 60-sided dice that collectively display every number between 1 and 300 on their faces,” Hall writes. “Each player in a game rolls one die, and each die is unique. After every player has rolled once, they play in the order of the numbers they rolled, from highest number to lowest.”
What the experts say: Harshbarger next aims to figure out a version of the dice that works for six players. “We feel there’s a decent chance that six 120-sided dice could be found. I don’t think there’s much of a market there..., but it would be a nice mathematical novelty.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
TRAVEL WITH SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
|
|
Travel with us on a river cruise through the Netherlands, a country at the forefront of environmental management and agricultural innovation, with expert guide Eric Sullivan, senior editor of technology and engineering. Spaces are limited; book today!
|
|
|
|
|
Sanidhya Sharma; Source: “World Trade Center Health Program External Quarterly Program Summary,” U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (data through June 30, 2026)
|
|
Aside from respiratory issues, 9/11 survivors and first responders have developed health conditions such as cancers, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance abuse, anxiety, depression, sleep apnea, and more.
|
|
|
MOST POPULAR STORIES OF THE WEEK
|
|
AI may have just solved a million-dollar math problem. The field will never be the same. | 5 min read
‘Unparalleled’ study finds psilocybin protects against nerve damage from chemotherapy. | 3 min read
Scientists unlock new clues to what a mysterious ancient human ancestor looked like. | 2 min read
|
|
Tiny investment, enormous universe: subscribe to Scientific American for 90 days for just $1 and help keep this newsletter going.
|
|
I'm hardly alone in having witnessed the difficulties of loved ones suffering from chemo-induced neuropathy. So, the intriguing psilocybin finding above gave me hope for future cancer patients undergoing chemo. The protective effect has been demonstrated only in mice and cell models, reports Scientific American's Jackie Flynn Mogensen. The researchers have reason to believe the process will work in an upcoming clinical trial in humans. In other recent and promising cancer-treatment news: a human study showed that a combined mRNA therapy significantly cut the odds of melanoma recurrence, Adam Kovac reported last month.
|
|
Please send your thoughts, comments or feedback on this newsletter to: newsletters@sciam.com. Andrea will be back on Monday!
—Robin Lloyd,
Contributing Editor
|
|
|
|
|
Subscribe to this and all of our newsletters here.
|
|
Scientific American
1000 N West Street, Suite 1200
|
|
|
|
|
