May 15, 2024: We're covering a new map showing all 150 million connections in a fragment of the human brain, a record-breaking solar flare and the hottest summer in 2,000 years. —Robin Lloyd, Contributing Editor | | | A sunspot cluster known as active region 3664 (AR3664) broke a record yesterday when it produced the largest flare of the current 11-year solar cycle, writes Scientific American reporter Meghan Bartels. The flare peaked at 12:51 P.M. EDT, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Space Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center, which monitors the sun's activities and potential impacts on Earth. This latest solar flare caused minimal communications issues. And the flare is not likely to yield the auroras like the ones sky-watchers enjoyed last weekend.
How it works: The sun's rotation has pushed the the active region mostly past the edge of the solar disk as we see it. That means Earth is now out of range of any coronal mass ejections from AR 3664; these blogs of charged plasma are typically responsible for creating auroras.
Why this is cool: This sunspot region stretched about 15 times the width of the Earth, comparable to an active solar region that produced the infamous 1859 Carrington Event. That massive solar storm interrupted telegraph service worldwide and yielded dramatic auroral displays. | | | Atlas of 150 Million Synapses | A new nanoscale-resolution map of a tiny piece of the human brain reveals new patterns of synapses, the connections between brain cells, reports Carissa Wong. The 3D atlas covers a volume of about one cubic millimeter, one-millionth of a whole brain, and contains roughly 57,000 brain cells (neurons) and 150 million synapses. The brain fragment was taken from the cortex of a 45-year-old woman undergoing surgery. Researchers discovered unconventional neurons, including some that made up to 50 connections with each other. It's more typical to observe a couple connections at most between two neurons.
How they did it: After staining the sample to make the cells easier to image using electron microscopes, the team built an artificial-intelligence model that stitched microscope images together to reconstruct the whole sample in 3D.
What the experts say: "This map provides unprecedented details that can unveil new rules of neural connections and help to decipher the inner workings of the human brain," says neuroscientist Yongsoo Kim. | | | Neurons in a fragment of brain cortex. Daniel Berger, Lichtman Lab, Harvard University | | | Amanda Montañez; Source: "2023 Summer Warmth Unparalleled over the Past 2,000 Years," by Jan Esper et al., in Nature. Published online May 14, 2024 | | | • Summer in the Northern Hemisphere last year was the hottest in the past 2,000, a marker of the urgent need to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, concludes a new study covered by Scientific American editor Andrea Thompson. The finding also is quite apparent in the story's accompanying graphic, above, created by Scientific American graphics editor Amanda Montañez. | | | • The textures and styles of Black hair, often referred to as braids, dreads or locs, have long been a target of discriminatory practices and legislation, writes freelance science journalist Syris Valentine. These styles can serve as a countercultural symbol, showing opposition to oppressive ideals, as numerous anthropologists and historians have detailed. A braider descended from Afro-Colombian Maroons says enslaved women used braiding patterns to send messages and map paths to freedom, Valentine writes. The essay quotes public historian Yolanda Hester as saying, "People find ways to make freedom possible for themselves." | 5 min read | | | • "High-functioning anxiety isn't a medical diagnosis. It's a hashtag." | The New York Times | • No, alcohol isn't good for you. Will new dietary guidelines be shaped more by health or industry interests? | STAT+ | • I'm the worm that ate part of RFK Jr.'s brain, and I'm asking for your vote. | The Washington Post | • "The stakes could not be higher": world is on edge of climate abyss, UN warns. | The Guardian | | | Card games, Mad Libs and unusual snacks are accumulating on a table as I prepare for a beach stay next week with family. The upcoming trip inspired me to dig into the Scientific American archives for past coverage of littoral science. A feature by Willard Bascom, published in 1960, details the era's insights into "the ways of moving sand," as well as awareness of beach erosion and improved approaches to conserving these popular warm-weather destinations. One proposed project noted in the story was meant to nourish beaches along the New Jersey shore. "The sand would come partly by truck from inland locations and partly by pumping from Barnegat Bay," Bascom wrote. I am set to head farther south next week. If you're familiar with the sands of the Jersey Shore and environs, let us know how these beaches are faring today. | —Robin Lloyd, Contributing Editor | | Subscribe to this and all of our newsletters . | | | | Scientific American
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