Week in Science: Images of Hurricane Melissa reveal its monstrosity

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October 31—This week, images of Hurricane Melissa reveal a beast of a storm; neuroscientists break down the 'Parenting Paradox'; and mathematicians discover a new shape. All that and more below! —Andrea Tamayo, Newsletter Writer

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This New Shape Breaks an 'Unbreakable' 3D Geometry Rule The noperthedron has a surprising property—which disproves a long-standing conjecture Emma R. Hasson

FDA Warns People Not to Eat Recalled Eggs Contaminated with Salmonella This is the third Salmonella-related egg recall of 2025. Here's what to do if you have recalled eggs Tanya Lewis

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Hurricane Melissa Images Reveal a Monster Storm for the Record Books These images of Hurricane Melissa show the Category 5 storm in all its power Andrea Thompson, Jeanna Bryner

UFOs Are Just One Explanation for Mysterious Patterns in Old Telescope Data New peer-reviewed research reporting strange lights in the pre-space-age sky is sparking curiosity and controversy Jonathan O'Callaghan

How an Error in Cult Classic Game Doom Sparked New Appreciation for Pi What would the world look like if we changed the value of pi? Whether in the real world or a game environment, the answer is complex Manon Bischoff

How Hurricane Melissa Became One of the Most Intense Atlantic Storms on Record A nearly perfect alignment of factors has enabled Hurricane Melissa to become one of the most intense Atlantic storms ever recorded Andrea Thompson

Napoleon's Defeat in Russia Was Aided by Two Surprising Deadly Diseases Disease-causing bacteria that have been recently discovered in the teeth of Napoleonic soldiers may have spurred the massive infantry's demise during its retreat from Russia Andrea Tamayo

The Neuroscience behind the 'Parenting Paradox' of Happiness Separate brain processes cope with moment-to-moment versus big-picture experiences, which helps explain how parenting both increases and decreases aspects of well-being Anthony Vaccaro

NASA's Moon Race Looks like a Losing Bet Former NASA officials warn that the U.S. looks poised to lose its self-declared race to beat China to the moon Dan Vergano

'Dueling Dinosaurs' Fossil Solves the Mystery of a 'Mini T. rex' An analysis suggests Nanotyrannus is a separate, smaller dinosaur that lived alongside T. rex, settling a 30-year debate Anirban Mukhopadhyay

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AI Models Analyze Language As Well As a Human Expert

How sharks scale like geometric objects; An interview with Carlo Rovelli; A biography of Earth across the age of animals on The Quanta Podcast

Math and Science News from Quanta Magazine View this email in your browser ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | ALL TOPICS   In a First, AI Models Analyze Language As Well As a Human Expert By STEVE NADIS If language is what makes us human, what does it mean now that large language models have gained "metalinguistic" abilities? Read the article   ZOOLOGY   Shark Data Suggests Animals Scale Like Geometric Objects By JOANNA THOMPSON Despite their wide variety of sizes, niches and shapes, sharks scale geometrically, pointing to possible fundamental constraints on evolution. Read the article ZOOLOGY   Carlo Rovelli: 'Time Is an Illusion' Video By EMILY BUDER Physicist Carlo Rovelli reveals how modern physics, from relativity to quantum gravity, has gradually erased time from its equations. Watch the video Q&A   Carlo Rovelli's Radical Perspective on Reality By ZACK SAVITSKY The theoretical physicist and best-selling author finds inspiration in politics and philosophy for rethinking space and time. Read the interview THE QUANTA PODCAST   A Biography of Earth Across the Age of Animals Podcast hosted by SAMIR PATEL with PETER BRANNEN Host Samir Patel speaks with contributing writer Peter Brannen about our planetary highs and lows, and the precarious goldilocks zone our animal-filled finds itself in now. Listen (Apple) | Listen (Spotify) Read the article Follow Quanta Unsubscribe | About Quanta | My Bookmarks Privacy Policy | Terms | Contact Us   Copyright © 2025 Quanta Magazine, an editorially independent division of the Simons Foundation Simons Foundation 160 5th Avenue, 7th Floor New York, NY 10010