Week in Science: Cats only help you when it benefits them

Unlike dogs and toddlers, cats need to get something out of helping you                    

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June 12—This week in science, dogs and toddlers will aid a struggling human, but cats wait until it benefits them, NASA's experimental plane goes supersonic, and the FDA approves the first new sunscreen ingredient in more than 20 years. All that and more below. —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor How are you liking this newsletter? Email newsletters@sciam.com anytime.

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Science confirms: Cats help you only when there’s something in it for them Dogs spontaneously aid struggling humans the way young children do—whereas cats wait until they stand to benefit Anirban Mukhopadhyay

NASA’s X-59 plane goes supersonic for the first time This experimental plane, which reached supersonic speeds yesterday, is designed to travel faster than the speed of sound without creating bothersome sonic booms Meghan Bartels

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The Philippines earthquake is massive, but it could’ve been bigger—here’s why The magnitude 7.8 earthquake that hit the Philippines happened at a subduction zone. Such places are capable of producing the largest earthquakes possible Andrea Thompson

Anthropic warns AI could soon start improving itself. Critics aren’t convinced The maker of Claude wants AI labs, including itself, to prepare for a coordinated slowdown if models begin building their own successors Chris Stokel-Walker

How Canadian rock duo Angine de Poitrine play with neurobiology and physics to make viral music Angine de Poitrine don't abide by the usual rules of Western music, using their own custom-built guitar to strike notes that shouldn't exist Adam Kovac

How math can help you decide what to order for dinner An experiment with 2,520 participants backs Richard Feynman’s answer to every diner’s dilemma: Do I want to try something new? Davide Castelvecchi, Nature magazine

Dino-killing asteroid may have sparked millions of years of hydrothermal life When asteroids slam into Earth, they can create hydrothermal vent systems Meghan Bartels

How to tell if your dog is left-pawed or right-pawed, according to science A step-by-step guide to the “Doginburgh Inventory,” a new pawedness test developed by dog behavior researchers Jackie Flynn Mogensen

U.S. gets a new sunscreen ingredient after 27 years—here’s how it works Dermatologists and skincare aficionados are excited for the U.S. to finally get a new, more protective sunscreen filter after more than 20 years of regulatory roadblocks. Here’s how bemotrizinol works Lauren J. Young

Resistance training may boost longevity. But how much do you need? Weight lifting and other forms of resistance training can increase bone density, lower diabetes risk and boost mental health Jackie Flynn Mogensen

Largest whale ‘graveyard’ discovered, with skeletons spanning 5 million years The fossilized remains of more than 450 whales have amassed along a 750-mile-long stretch of the Indian Ocean floor Meghan Bartels

NASA reveals astronauts who will fly Artemis III, its next step toward a moon landing NASA’s Artemis III crew includes three NASA astronauts and one European Space Agency astronaut Claire Cameron

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