Superfast plasma is careening toward Earth, astronomers thrilled

It's the first observed microblazar streaming from 12,000 light-years away ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­

September 25, 2026—Bacteria share defenses with each other, Al Gore says 2026 could be a climate turning point and the JUICE space mission is about to slingshot past Earth. —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor TODAY'S NEWS A black hole steals away matter from an orbiting star. Some of the matter is absorbed into the black hole, but some of it is shot into the distance in a high-speed jet stream. B. Marcote (JIVE/ASTRON) Astronomers have found the first ever evidence of a microblazar, an invisible stream of superfast plasma propelled by a black hole. | 2 min read For the first time ever, Hawaii is under its third hurricane watch of the year—Hurricane Nolo is about 200 miles south of the Big Island and its path is uncertain. Here's why the islands are getting hammered by storms. | 3 min read  Fermi Explorer is a proposed low-cost private space mission to Alpha Centauri. But its goal is to answer a question that’s already been answered, writes columnist Phil Plait, so what's the point? | 6 min read  We might look back and see 2026 as a turning point on climate action, Al Gore told Scientific American this week. The climate crisis is severe, he said, but a lot of good news on renewable energy is coming out. | 4 min read  On Monday, the European Space Agency’s JUICE spacecraft will fly by Earth to help slingshot itself on its journey to Jupiter. | 2 min read TOP STORIES Escherichia coli in a petri dish. Ted Horowitz Photography/Getty Images ​Bacteria Share, Too When antibiotics attack microbes, scientists have observed bacteria share antibiotic-resistant DNA with each other to survive. But microbiologists have long suspected they might trade more than just genes. Now, scientists have shown their hunch was right. In a recent study, researchers saw bacteria transfer functional proteins to one another for the first time. ​ How it works: The scientists created two Escherichia coli bacterial populations. One group of cells carried a disabled, inverted gene that made them unable to metabolize a simple sugar called galactose. The other bacteria population could create a protein named Cre recombinase that could fix the disabled gene in the first population. The scientists saw that the microbes used vesicles—tiny fluid-filled bubbles enclosed in fatty membranes—to ferry working proteins to their buddies with nonfunctional genes. ​ What the experts say: Locating the ways that bacteria devise defenses against antibiotics is important for staving off antibiotic resistance. “Persistence is the first step to resistance,” says Christophe Herman, a microbiologist at the Baylor College of Medicine. “If we could stop that, I think it would be very helpful in stopping the rise of antibiotic resistance.” —Emma Gometz, Newsletter Editor

AN EXCLUSIVE EVENT FOR SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SUBSCRIBERS Some scientific questions aren’t just unanswered, but may even be unanswerable. We can never gather evidence from before the big bang, for instance, or the era when the first spark of life on Earth ignited. We may never know how long the human lifespan can be extended, or what consciousness is. Nevertheless, researchers will keep searching. Join Scientific American editors Seth Fletcher, Allison Parshall and Clara Moskowitz for a discussion of these mysteries, which are at the center of our October issue’s special package: Impossible Questions. ​ Register to Attend

FROM THE ARCHIVE Scientific American, Vol. 34, No. 26; June 24, 1876 From the June 1876 issue: The Mygale Spider. "Like all spiders, this strange creature has eight eyes. Its mandibles are armed with sharp teeth, and its feet have retractile claws, resembling those of a cat. This 'trapdoor' creature carries its eggs enclosed in a closely woven cocoon of white silk, forming two rounded pieces, united at their border." Unlimited subscribers can download this issue from our archive. SCIENCE QUIZ If you read Scientific American closely this week you should ace today's science quiz. I myself got a perfect score 💅 (I mean, I HAVE to read everything, but still!). Try it out and see how you do. MOST POPULAR STORIES OF THE WEEK RFK, Jr., is focusing attention on electromagnetic fields. Here’s what the science says about exposure | 3 min read Did OpenAI solve the wrong Navier-Stokes problem? | 4 min read 9 ‘boundaries’ keep Earth livable. We’ve breached 7 of them | 4 min read Tiny investment, enormous universe: subscribe to Scientific American for 90 days for just $1 and help keep this newsletter going. Subscribe You people love apples! Thanks to all readers who sent in or posted your favorite kinds! You taught me about some new varieties I'd never heard of before but now will have to seek out: Black Winesap (an heirloom variety dating to American Colonial times)  Pink Pearl (introduced in 1944 by Albert Etter, a plant breeder) Haralson (introduced by the University of Minnesota in 1922) Peasgood Nonsuch (looks to have been introduced in England in the early 1800s, anyone know more about this one?) It's a great time of year for apple sampling. Hope you get to try some great ones this weekend. Tell me all about it and send any other feedback on this newsletter to: newsletters@sciam.com.​  —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor

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Week in Science: Did OpenAI solve the wrong math problem?

Plus, why RFK Jr., is going after electromagnetic fields                    

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September 25—If you don't expect to see the words “math” and “drama” in the same sentence, this week will make you think again. Below, you’ll find stories on how OpenAI is defending itself against accusations that its chatbots solved the wrong Navier-Stokes problem, the rationale behind zero-knowledge proofs (and why they don’t always work), and a six-dimensional sphere mystery. Plus, in the non-math world, updates on crucial climate boundaries, what you need to know about rising COVID cases, and why RFK. Jr., is turning his attention to electromagnetic fields. How’s your science knowledge this week? Take our Friday quiz to put your skills to the test. —Emma Gometz, Newsletter Editor Have thoughts or feedback on our coverage? Email newsletters@sciam.com anytime.

Top Stories

RFK, Jr., is focusing attention on electromagnetic fields. Here’s what the science says about exposure The research into how electromagnetic waves and radio frequency radiation influence health has been plagued by low-quality studies Stephanie Pappas

Did OpenAI solve the wrong Navier-Stokes problem? OpenAI’s proof seems eligible for a $1-million prize—but only by using a controversial loophole Joseph Howlett

Exclusive Subscriber-Only Event Impossible Questions in Science Some scientific questions aren’t just unanswered, but may even be unanswerable. What came before the big bang, for instance, or what first sparked life on Earth? Join Scientific American editors for a virtual discussion of these mysteries: September 30, 1:00P.M. ET. Subscribe today and sign up!

9 ‘boundaries’ keep Earth livable. We’ve breached 7 of them Earth’s annual checkup shows that we’re at increasing risk of moving away from the environment we’re adapted to Andrea Thompson

What changing ‘Lake Ontario’ to ‘Lake America’ means for weather forecasts The National Weather Service is speeding ahead with changing the name of the Great Lake Andrea Thompson

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NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Telescope glimpses its first cosmic light The space telescope is set to reveal thousands of new exoplanets and scour the universe for signs of dark matter and energy Adam Kovac

What does OpenAI’s blockbuster Navier-Stokes proof mean for the real world? OpenAI’s claimed proof of the Navier-Stokes problem is a mathematical tour de force, but any real-world applications may be years away—if they ever arrive at all Adam Kovac

COVID cases are on the rise—here’s what you need to know The virus is currently most prevalent in California and the southern U.S., but experts expect it to go national in the coming weeks Meghan Bartels

Why mathematicians are suddenly hiding research results Google made a major breakthrough in quantum computing. To prevent the results from being misused, the company kept them secret. That backfired Manon Bischoff

See the Taurids light up the fall sky with brilliant shooting stars Lasting from mid-September until mid-November, the Taurid meteor showers are among the longest of the year Jackie Flynn Mogensen

Mathematicians use AI to find mysterious symmetries, solving decades-old problem In parallel, a race by amateurs and mathematicians has found all 25,000 cases of one “inverse Galois problem” Lyndie Chiou

AI is giving scientists more ideas than they can test A new report from Google, Google DeepMind and M.I.T. finds that researchers are using AI—a lot. It’s just not helping as much in the lab Peter Hall

AI solves 79-year-old mathematical mystery Can a six-dimensional sphere be described using imaginary numbers? For decades, experts puzzled over this question. Now an AI has apparently answered it Manon Bischoff, Joseph Howlett

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