Week in Science: Where does the solar system end?

May 10—This week, a safe word can protect against AI scams, archaeologists discover a baffling dodecahedron from the Roman Empire, and pinning down the boundary of the solar system. Enjoy! -Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor

Top Stories

Where Is the Edge of the Solar System? The solar system's outer limits aren't as clear-cut as you might think Phil Plait

Puppy-Dog Eyes in Wild Canines Sparks Rethink on Dog Evolution The eyebrows of the African wild dog have scientists wondering whether other canine species besides domestic dogs can make the irresistible "puppy-dog eyes" expression Gillian Dohrn; Nature magazine

'Hydrogen Fever' Erupts after Discoveries of Large Deposits of the Clean Gas Large stores of natural hydrogen have turned up in Albania, France and Mali Marta Zaraska

A Fight About Viruses in the Air Is Finally Over. Now It's Time for Healthy Venting WHO now admits the COVID virus and other germs spread "through the air." This plain language may help improve research and action to fight disease Maggie Fox, contract writer

How Much Do Our Thoughts Shape Our Health? The way we think about time, aging and sickness may influence our health, behavior and general well-being in surprising ways Ellen Langer; Peter Aungle

Gas Stove Pollution Lingers in Homes for Hours Even outside the Kitchen Gas stoves spew nitrogen dioxide at levels that frequently exceed those that are deemed safe by health organizations Allison Parshall

Defend Yourself against AI Impostor Scams with a Safe Word Fraudsters are using AI voice-cloning services to steal identities. Code words can thwart this deception Ben Guarino

The Mathematical Case for Monkeys Producing Shakespeare—Eventually An infinite number of random events can produce just about anything if you have quintillions of years to wait Manon Bischoff

How to Move the World's Largest Camera from a California Lab to an Andes Mountaintop A multimillion-dollar digital camera could revolutionize astronomy. But first it needs to climb a mountain halfway around the globe Rahul Rao

Why Did Ancient Romans Make this Baffling Metal Dodecahedron? A mysterious 12-sided object called a dodecahedron discovered in England has archaeologists both excited and baffled Samantha Tipper; The Conversation US

Florida's Beef with Lab-Grown Meat Is Evidence-Free Lobbyists' and politicians' campaigns against lab-grown meat appeal to emotion, not logic and reason Allison Parshall

'Protest Paradigm' Shows What's Wrong with Media Coverage of Student Activism Media coverage of university students speaking up against the war in Gaza, just like coverage of other protest movements, has fallen prey to some serious weaknesses Danielle K. Brown; The Conversation US

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