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October 23, 2025—A new catalog of the gut virome, chatfishing's takeover of online dating and skin on "dinosaur mummies" that isn't skin at all. —Robin Lloyd, Contributing Editor | | Donald Iain Smith/Getty Images | | - "Chatfishing" is taking over dating apps as "AI wingman" are rewriting online dating, making it tougher to truly know who or what you're falling for. | 4 min read
- Why we know so little about what medications are safe for pregnancy. | 7 min read
- Earth's reflectivity is falling, which could influence ocean currents and the location of rainfall bands as well as global warming. | 3 min read
- Games: Today's Expert Sudoku and Spellements
| | | 'Dinosaur Mummy' Mystery Solved | More than a century ago in sandstone rock formations in eastern Wyoming, materials found surrounding a duck-billed Edmontosaurus dinosaur were identified as fossilized flesh and skin. The specimen was heralded as the first "dinosaur mummy" ever found. A new analysis of many more recently discovered duck-billed dinosaur mummies from the same area reveals that rather than fossilized remains, the layers of material are actually clay molds welded by microbes as the creatures decayed, reports Scientific American intern Andrea Tamayo. The finding calls into question the fossilized flesh claim associated with the first dinosaur mummy. Why it matters: The surrounding material started out as skin on the deceased animal, but the carcasses were quickly dried out in a drought before being flooded with sediment, the researchers propose. A layer of bacteria then formed on the wet, porous carcasses, forming a biofilm, which attracted nearby clay. The carcasses's soft parts decayed and washed away, but the clay mask remained, preserving a thin mold of the former skin forms just beneath. What the experts say: "The question now before us is whether this clay mask preservation process applies to the other dinosaur mummies and skin renderings that have been found at many other sites around the world," says paleontologist Paul Sereno, lead author of the new study. | | Mummy of the juvenile duck-billed dinosaur Edmontosaurus annectens preserved as a dried carcass resting on its ribcage some 66 million years ago. Tyler Keillor/Fossil Lab | | A vast collection of viruses deep in our digestive system has now been catalogued, revealing how the so-called gut virome constantly changes in response to our diet, environment and age. The researchers focused on bacteriophages—viruses that affect bacteria and make up more than 90 percent of the virome, reports journalist Kate Graham-Shaw. Bacteriophages, or phages, are a mixed bag. Some can kill harmful gut bacteria but others can carry a gene for antibiotic resistance or otherwise strengthen a pathogen. Why it matters: Exposures to certain drugs and foods can trigger imbalances in the diversity of the gut virome, which in turn can lead to inflammatory bowel disease, age-related diseases or other disorders. Insights into these relationships could aid someday in the development of phage therapies to enlist viruses that can fight unwanted bacteria. What the experts say: "A key challenge is distinguishing causality from correlation. Each individual's virome is unique, so we cannot make sweeping statements about the health of an individual by looking at their virome alone," says microbiologist Evelien Adriaenssens, who was not involved in the new study. | | | | |
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- Johannes Huber, a wood scientist at Luleå University of Technology in Skellefteå, Sweden, uses computed tomography (CT) scanning to test the properties of wood samples without breaking them. "Wood has character; no two logs are alike," he says. Using industrial CT scanners, Huber can create detailed models of the wood's internal structure. "If we can evaluate it non-destructively, we can optimize how we use this material," he says. Nature | 3 min read
| | The chatfishing story above, by Scientific American senior tech reporter Deni Béchard, deals with people looking for love online who are fooled by prospective dates who use AI to generate chat replies in apps, or dates who aren't human at all. Similar themes are explored in "True Detective," Season 4, and "Slow Horses," Seasons 4 and 5. For a more light-hearted depiction of cyber-theft, check out Thelma, a 2024 movie starring June Squibb, who is 95 years old. | | Thanks for reading. Please send comments or share your favorite cybersecurity drama depicted in print or on the big or little screen to: newsletters@sciam.com. —Robin Lloyd, Contributing Editor
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