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August 8, 2025—Light beams echo in the universe, the Fibonacci sequence discovered in a classic probability puzzle, and we sit down with a meteorologist who's now in Congress. —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor | | Captured by the Hubble Space Telescope in February 2004, this image is part of a sequence showing the celestial progression of a light echo. NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI) | | Fibonacci SurpriseA variation of the classic pick-up sticks problem in mathematics asks: If you have some number of sticks with random lengths between 0 and 1, what are the chances that no three of those sticks can form a triangle? A group of young researchers trying to devise an answer to the question discovered that the famed Fibonacci sequence is involved in the solution. If n was the number of sticks selected randomly, the chance of not having a valid triangle among them was the reciprocal of the first n Fibonacci numbers multiplied together. So if you picked up six sticks, the chance of not being able to make a triangle is 1 over the first six digits of the Fibonacci sequence multiplied together: 1 / (1 × 1 × 2 × 3 × 5 × 8) = 1/240.
How it works: When do three sticks fail to form a triangle? It's exactly when two of the sticks put together are still shorter than the third. When attached to the ends of the third stick, the first two will be too far away to meet.
Why this is interesting: The Fibonacci sequence shows up everywhere in nature—from the numbers of spirals on pinecones to the angle between leaves on many plants, and it often shows up in surprising places throughout mathematics. This new paper highlights yet another delightful instance of this phenomenon. —Emma Hasson, editorial fellow
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Put your science knowledge to the test with this week's science quiz. Plus, here is today's Spellements puzzle and a killer hard version of Sudoku. Remember, if you spot any words missing from Spellements, send them in! games@newsletters.com. This week, Bruce G. found aureate, which is an adjective meaning golden. | | MOST POPULAR STORIES OF THE WEEK | | -
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| | - Last week, the EPA announced a sweeping effort to do away with the endangerment finding. In 2009, this finding determined (backed by extensive scientific evidence) that heat-trapping emissions from activities like the burning of fossil fuels are driving climate change and threatening human health. Undoing this finding is a blatant attempt to evade responsibility and pander to fossil fuel interests, write Rachel Cleetus and Carlos Martine, senior policy director and climate scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, respectively. "At a time when people worldwide are reeling from extreme heat waves, worsening flooding and extreme rainfall, intensifying tropical cyclones and catastrophic wildfire seasons, it's frankly cruel to deny that these extreme disasters affect people's health and well-being," they say. | 5 min read
| | Every Friday in summer we're recommending a great, freshly-published science read. Tell us what you're reading, or if you try any of our recommendations! | | The Meteorites: Encounters with Outer Space and Deep Time By Helen Gordon. Profile Books, June 2025.
 Billion-year-old rocks filled with tiny microbes from extraterrestrial water could be the key to our understanding of the universe and the origins of life on Earth. While researching and writing her new book The Meteorites, writer Helen Gordon traveled the world meeting an array of meteorite devotees: from the geologists developing a new field of study dubbed "paleo-astronomy" that examines meteorites fallen to Earth (and the microbes they carry) to learn about galactic and solar system formation and the origins of alien life; to the rock lovers who spend their days hunting for, and selling for potentially millions of dollars, the prettiest, weirdest or "youngest" space-rocks they can find. The Meteorites is an ode to rock collectors, yes, but also to anyone intrigued by these sometimes terrifying objects that tumble toward Earth from ancient corners of space. Seeing, or better yet holding, a meteorite is a profound experience, Gordon writes. It would likely be the oldest thing you'd ever touched, and a reminder that, while space feels very much "out there," she says, "out there is all around us. Landing on our shoulders, falling on our roofs." —Brianne Kane | | In a 1933 letter he wrote to a colleague, Albert Einstein said, "I do not share your view that the scientist should observe silence in political matters." Would such silence, he continued, not signal a lack of responsibility? At the time, he was a vocal public critic of the rising Nazi party, and several of his peers urged him to exercise restraint. But Einstein could not be silenced. Scientists possess valuable perspective and expertise that can have dramatic impact on pressing global issues. Today, the political action committee, 314 Action, is dedicated to getting scientists elected to office—the current Congress has two physicists, two chemists, one geologist, nine engineers ... and one meteorologist. | | Thank you for reading Today in Science this week. Have a great weekend and send feedback to: newsletters@sciam.com. —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor
With contributions by Andrea Tamayo
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