Also, was Isaac Newton's contribution to calculus stolen? ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
November 10, 2026—A plant movement discovery, a fusion start-up aiming to test nukes and an unforeseen outcome of the U.S. war with Iran.
—Robin Lloyd, Contributing Editor
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The U.S. war with Iran has raised fossil fuel prices so much that the resulting drop in oil demand has put 2026 on track for a dip in annual fossil fuel carbon emissions. | 2 min read
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Nearly 200 countries—but not the U.S.—are set to participate in the United Nations’ annual climate conference. Here are five more things to know going into the COP31 climate meeting, in Antalya, Türkiye. | 4 min read
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Scientists have solved the “Great Uncomformity,” the mystery of why large chunks of Earth’s geologic history are missing from layers of rock that form a chronological stack from oldest to youngest. | 4 min read
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Years after being officially eliminated, measles is rampant in the U.S. Could it be back for good? | 4 min read
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Isaac Newton accused Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, another mathematical giant of the time, of stealing the concept of infinitesimals, the core concept for the development of calculus. Here’s the real story. | 4 min read
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Swerving Growth
Plants aren’t known to most for their movements, but they’re far from stationary. They bend toward water, light and other stimuli in responses called tropisms. Now, researchers have identified a new movement, “saprotropism,” in which plants bend their roots to avoid dead or rotting plant tissue. The team grew a common research plant in containers, some of which were dotted with spots of rotting apple. The plants’ roots grew as expected in the control containers but were found to bend away from “decay zones” in the apple-dotted containers. The finding held across experiments with different plants and decay sources unless the source was animal tissue.
How it works: The saprotropism mechanism differs from that of most other plant tropisms, relying on a hormone called abscisic acid (ABA). When plant roots encounter an area acidified by decaying plant matter, ABA builds up on the side facing the rot, encouraging growth in the other direction, reports freelance science journalist Joanna Thompson. This movement helps plants avoid pathogens, the researchers think.
What the experts say: “There’s still a lot of open space in the signaling mechanism for more detail to get fleshed out,” says Chris Wolverton, a plant biologist at Ohio Wesleyan University, who was not involved in the study. For example, at what point does foreign plant matter decay enough to serve as nutritious compost?
—Emma Gometz, newsletter editor
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War's Private Lab
The U.S. hasn’t detonated a nuclear weapon in an explosive test since 1992. Instead, national lab scientists rely on experiments and simulations to understand how the weapons should behave. Now, a public-private start-up whose co-founders include former scientists at those labs aims to improve on nuclear fusion experiments to test the U.S. arsenal. For example, to study if and how one nuke survives when another is detonated nearby, researchers collect data from “pulsed power” instruments that unleash a huge burst of energy toward a tiny container of fusion fuel. The start-up, called Pacific Fusion, says its system for such simulations is more efficient and packs an even more powerful punch compared with lab experiments.
Why this is important: Pacific Fusion also plans to use fusion (the merging of light atomic nuclei to release massive energy) to supply electricity to the power grid, a promise the fusion industry has made for years. Although it has never been done before, they’re hoping to demonstrate a fusion reaction that releases more energy than goes into it. Research stemming from such an innovation also could have multiple defense applications.
What the experts say: The Pacific Fusion effort is expected to demonstrate “that the foundational work of atomic science is no longer exclusively the purview of a state government,” said Brandon Williams, head of the National Nuclear Security Administration, at an August ground-breaking event. “There’s a first-place prize for deterrence: first place is freedom and prosperity. And there’s a second-place prize for deterrence. It’s called annihilation and subjugation.”
—Emma Gometz, Newsletter Editor
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TRAVEL WITH SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
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Explore Earth’s Eruptive History: Volcanoes of Italy
Travel with us to Southern Italy for a journey through Pompeii, the Aeolian Islands and Sicily. Explore ancient ruins, witness active volcanic landscapes and meet leading researchers studying these geological giants with expert guide Andrea Thompson, senior editor for Earth and environment. Spaces limited, book today!
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Can you reassemble this image of our July 1995 cover? It depicts the launch of a small car by a reconstructed medieval engine of war, the trebuchet.
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The trebuchet, a type of catapult, somehow comes up in conversation around my house from time to time. At first, I’d never heard of this warfare machine. Turns out that a trebuchet “could hurl missiles weighing a ton or more over castle walls,” per the July 1995 issue of Scientific American, featured in the above Cover Art Jigsaw. The engineering and uses of catapults have long fascinated our readers and editors. An illustration of an ancient catapult made its way to the cover of our March 1979 issue, an invitation to a 10-page, illustrated catapults feature within. Enjoy!
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We always like to hear from you. Please send your thoughts and feedback to us at: newsletters@sciam.com. See you tomorrow!
—Robin Lloyd, Contributing Editor
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