Week in Science: New flu variant driving case surge

View in web browser

December 19—This week, a new flu variant may behind the current surge in cases. Plus, humans have something of a sixth sense called interoception, and it could be the key to mental health. And tonight is your last chance to spot the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS. All that and more below. —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor Tell us what you think about this newsletter! Email newsletters@sciam.com anytime.

Top Stories

New Flu Variant May Be Triggering Spike in Severe Disease A novel influenza variant called subclade K appears to be driving an uptick in cases and hospitalizations throughout the U.S. and other countries Tanya Lewis

How to See Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS as It Swings by Earth One Last Time This week marks the last chance for backyard astronomers to see interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS before it races on its journey back to outer space Claire Cameron

Brought to you by Scientific American Travel Limited Space Available for 2026 Mediterranean Eclipse Cruise Join us! We secured additional cabins for our 2026 solar eclipse cruise. Reserve yours now for the experience of a lifetime: watching totality approach while surrounded by the sea, fellow science lovers and your trip leader, Senior Editor Clara Moskowitz. Learn More.

A Distorted Mind-Body Connection May Explain Common Mental Illnesses Disruptions in interoception may underlie anxiety, eating disorders, and other mental health ailments Diana Kwon

These Orcas Are on the Brink—And So Is the Science That Could Save Them Inside the desperate rush to save the southern resident killer whales Kelso Harper

Get a great holiday deal on a subscription to Scientific American. Supporting our work means amplifying science.

The Hype behind Probiotics Popular supplements with billions of "good" microbes really help only a few illnesses, research shows Lydia Denworth

How Dark-Fleet Ships Use A Digital Trick to Disappear—And How to Find Them An oil tanker seized by the U.S. this week reportedly used a technique that scrambled its location, but new advanced visual tracking can help expose such ships' true coordinates Eve Lu

Meet Your Future Robot Servants, Caregivers and Explorers Robots are poised to play a much bigger role in daily life at home, at work and in the world Ben Guarino

RFK, Jr.–Backed Lyme Disease Conspiracy Theory May Be Probed under New Bill President Donald Trump is expected to sign a defense bill this week that orders an investigation into whether the U.S. military bioengineered Lyme disease Claire Cameron

New Views of Solar System Moons Complicate Ocean Worlds Theory Oceans hiding within the crusts of distant moons are tantalizing targets for scientists looking for life beyond Earth Meghan Bartels

Strange Cosmic Blast May Be First-Ever Superkilonova Observed The combination of a supernova and a kilonova may have produced a rare space explosion that astronomers have never seen before Claire Cameron

The 10 Most Mind-Blowing Discoveries About the Brain in 2025 From glowing neurons to newborn memories, here are the most fascinating brain discoveries of 2025 Allison Parshall

Heart and Kidney Diseases and Type 2 Diabetes May Be One Ailment These three disorders could really be "CKM syndrome," which can be treated with drugs like Ozempic Jyoti Madhusoodanan

Rising Temperatures Could Trigger a Reptile Sexpocalypse The sex of many turtles, crocodilians, and other reptiles is determined by the temperature at which their eggs incubate. Global warming could doom them Elizabeth Preston

Mysterious Bright Flashes in the Night Sky Baffle Astronomers Celestial transients shine furiously and briefly. Astronomers are just beginning to understand them Ann Finkbeiner

Subscribe to this and all of our newsletters here. Scientific American One New York Plaza, New York, NY, 10004 Support our mission, subscribe to Scientific American here Unsubscribe  |  Preferences Privacy Policy  |  Contact Us