Week in Science: Millions of bees under a N.Y. cemetery

The biggest science stories this week                    

View in web browser

April 17—One of the largest underground colonies of bees was found in Ithaca, N.Y., how mathematicians created an "impossible shape" and the lingering joy of the Artemis II mission. Plus: Our May issue is online! Don't miss our deep dive on mussels, a mind-bending story on magnets, a U.S. military research effort to fact-check adversaries' weapons claims and much more. Enjoy! —Emma Gometz, Newsletter Editor Have thoughts? Email newsletters@sciam.com anytime.

Top Stories

See NASA’s Artemis II mission around the moon in 12 stunning photos The Artemis II mission’s 10-day odyssey around the moon and back was captured in stunning photographs at every moment. Here are 12 of our favorite images Joseph Howlett

Scientists just discovered 5.6 million bees under a New York State cemetery This whopping bee aggregation is one of the largest and oldest ever recorded, according to a new study Jackie Flynn Mogensen

Brought to you by Scientific American Travel Limited Space on Trip of a Lifetime Only a few cabins left for our 2026 solar eclipse cruise! Reserve yours while you can for an extraordinary experience: watching totality approach while surrounded by the sea, fellow science lovers and your trip leader, Chief of Reporters Clara Moskowitz. Learn More.

Want to dive deeper? Get a deal on a subscription and support Scientific American.

Mathematicians created an ‘impossible’ shape that shouldn’t exist Scientists have designed a new kind of paradoxical shape Clara Moskowitz, Robert Ghrist

Super heat conductor challenges fundamental physics With performance three times better than copper’s, this new material could substantially improve heat management of electronics, data centers and energy systems Rachel Nuwer

DARPA’s AI is built to call BS on wild weapons claims The SciFy program tests whether adversaries’ most outlandish scientific claims add up or fall apart Sarah Scoles

The Expanse authors James S. A. Corey dive into alien minds in The Faith of Beasts Award winning duo James S. A. Corey show humanity’s struggle with staggering alien power in their latest installment of the Captive’s War series Sarah Lewin Frasier

How two mathematicians created an equation that quietly runs the planet The Diffie-Hellman key exchange secures everything from your text messages to government secrets Jack Murtagh

The hidden cause of heart disease is inflammation Immune system overreactions may be the true culprit of cardiac illness—and lifesaving drugs can calm them down Melinda Wenner Moyer

Artemis II reveals why humans still love the moon The triumph of NASA’s first crewed lunar mission in a half-century is a reminder of what the moon really means for Earth—and why we’re going back Lee Billings

New study shows how the brain weighs evidence to make decisions When presented with two different types of decisions, the brain accumulates evidence in a similar way Lauren Claire Fong, Daniel Feuerriegel, The Conversation US

A face-swapping illusion can unlock childhood memories By making people feel as if they inhabit a younger version of their own face, researchers can bring childhood memories into sharper focus Jane Aspell, Utkarsh Gupta

Space hotels are coming soon With the rise of private orbital habitats, vacations in space are becoming a real possibility for the ultrawealthy Jonathan O'Callaghan

How birds survived the dinosaurs’ doomsday Scientists finally understand why birds were the only dinosaurs to pull through the end-Cretaceous mass extinction Steve Brusatte

How a lost 1812 wristwatch sparked a 200-year race in precision engineering Modern luxury watches can be traced back to one of Napoleon Bonaparte’s younger sisters Jeanna Bryner

How strange new ‘altermagnets’ could rewrite physics How the discovery of altermagnets could change physics and computing Bob Henderson

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