Scientific American Magazine Vol 324 Issue 5

Scientific American

Volume 324, Issue 5

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Features

Will Probiotics Save Corals or Harm Them?

Bacteria are helping corals in lab tests, but risks rise as treatments are applied in the wild

The Art of Mathematics in Chalk

A photography project reveals the allure of equations in mathematicians’ blackboard work

World's Largest Map of Space Offers Clues on Dark Energy

World's Largest Map of Space Offers Clues on Dark Energy

A new chart of millions of galaxies across 11 billion years of cosmic history helps to answer some of the biggest cosmological questions

Damage to a Protective Shield around the Brain May Lead to Alzheimer's and Other Diseases

The blood-brain barrier deteriorates with aging, but animal studies indicate repairs can make old brains look young again

Adolescent Brains Are Wired to Want Status and Respect: That's an Opportunity for Teachers and Parents

Advances in neuroscience and psychology could lead to real-world benefits in education and mental health

Genomes Reveal Humanity's Journey into the Americas

DNA has upended neat and tidy accounts of the peopling of the American continents

Are Dolphins Right-Handed or Left-Handed?

That is a trick question because dolphins obviously don’t have hands. But studying whether they have “handedness” led to identifying a quirk of human perception

Departments

50, 100 & 150 Years Ago
50, 100 & 150 Years Ago: May 2021
Advances
Giant Mud Volcano Reveals Its Powerful Explosive Secrets
In Case You Missed It
Saturn Probe Data Reveal Impressive Depth of Titan's Largest Sea
New Blood Analyzer Tells Human from Animal Samples on the Spot
Blood Test Gives Early Warning of Failing Heart Transplant
Using Light to Control Cells Holds Promise across the Body
Evolution's Favorite Fish Diversify through 'Noncoding' Genes
Whales' Long, Loud Calls Reveal Structure beneath Ocean Floor
The COVID Zoom Boom Is Reshaping Sign Language
Letters
Readers Respond to the January 2021 Issue
Observatory
Making Vaccines Is Straightforward; Getting People to Take Them Isn't
Reviews
Stunning Images from Chemistry, the Inscrutable Quantum Reality, and Other New Science Books
The Science Agenda
Those Who Investigate Premature Deaths Should Have Medical Training
Meter
Poem: 'String Theory'
The Science of Health
COVID Has Pushed Medical Research into Remote Trials, Benefiting Patients and Scientists
From the Editor
Dolphin Spins, Adolescent Brains and a Very Big Map
Graphic Science
Hormone Highs and Lows Follow a Seasonal Pattern
Forum
The James Webb Space Telescope Needs to Be Renamed