The U.S. Just Lost 26 Years' Worth of Progress on Life Expectancy

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October 21, 2022

Public Health The U.S. Just Lost 26 Years' Worth of Progress on Life Expectancy COVID and overdose deaths have sharply cut U.S. life expectancy, with Indigenous peoples experiencing the biggest decline By Tanya Lewis

Animals Some People Really Are Mosquito Magnets, and They're Stuck That Way Certain compounds in our skin determine how much we attract mosquitoes, new research suggests—and those compounds don't change much over time By Daniel Leonard

Astronomy First Known Map of Night Sky Found Hidden in Medieval Parchment The fabled star catalog from the ancient Greek astronomer Hipparchus had been feared lost By Jo Marchant,Nature magazine

Dinosaurs Remarkable Dinosaur Mummy Has 'Glittering' Skin Gouged by Ancient Crocs An exquisite dinosaur mummy called Dakota shows evidence it was feasted on by ancient predators By Nicoletta Lanese,LiveScience

Astronomy The Brightest Gamma-Ray Burst Ever Recorded Rattled Earth's Atmosphere The death of a massive star far across the universe affected lightning on our planet and could teach us about the Milky Way By Phil Plait

Psychology How to Stop Unwanted Thoughts Suppressing the flow of unwanted thoughts is possible and can help people cope with difficult memories By Ingrid Wickelgren

Anthropology First Known Neandertal Family Discovered in Siberian Cave Ancient DNA from closely related individuals offers fresh insight into Neanderthals' lives and social structures By Ewen Callaway,Nature magazine

Drug Use Should Parents Really Be Worried About Rainbow Fentanyl? The candy-colored drugs are the latest Halloween scare, but history suggests such fears are overblown By Joel Best,The Conversation US

Neuroscience Why Sleep-Deprived People Are More Selfish and Lonely Poor sleep impairs brain areas that are key to social engagement, but more zzz's can boost kind behavior By Daisy Yuhas

Animals Heaviest Bony Fish Ever Measured Is a Wheel-Shaped Behemoth A sunfish found near the Azores breaks the 26-year-old record for the heftiest bony fish ever measured By Stephanie Pappas

Memory Naps Not Needed to Make New Memories Rats kept awake after exploring novel objects remembered the original items but not where they'd seen those objects, raising interesting questions about human sleep. By Karen Hopkin | 05:27

Neurology John Fetterman Shows How Well the Brain Recovers after Stroke Following a stroke, the brain's own repair processes can lead to a strong recovery in people such as Senate candidate John Fetterman By Helen Santoro

FROM THE STORE Scientific American Volume 327, Issue 5

BRING SCIENCE HOME The Scientific Secret of Stretchy Dough You might know the products, but do you know the secret of great dough? With a little bit of chemistry--and some kneading--you can find out what flours make the best dough--and why.  Credit: George Retseck Do you remember the last time you baked cookies, bread or cake? Did your baked good turn out perfectly? Or was it a bit too flat or perhaps rubbery and tough, or maybe with clumps of dry ingredients? The problem might have been in how you mixed the dough—or with the type of flour you used. In this science activity you will knead, stretch and punch some pretty remarkable doughs and discover what provides structure and elasticity to your baked goods. Next time you prepare dough for bread, pizza, cookies, cake, pie or any other baked good, you'll know what to do!

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