Scientific American

• Hurricane Hunter Flights Improve Hurricane Forecasts, But Trump Budget Cuts Could Threaten Them

  NOAA’s Hurricane Hunter airplane missions significantly increase the accuracy of hurricane forecasts, but President Trump’s proposed budget cuts jeopardize the data-gathering efforts and other forecasting tools

• How Does a Gravitational Slingshot Work?

  Spacecraft can get a significant boost by stealing energy from planets

• What Is Testosterone Replacement Therapy, and Is It Safe?

  As more men turn to testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) for energy, mood and muscle, experts warn the risks are still not fully understood.

• Here’s How Plastic Bag Bans Are Keeping Trash off Shorelines

  Data from beach cleanups show that banning or taxing single-use plastic bags makes a difference in ecosystems

• Humpback Whales Are Blowing ‘Bubble Rings’ at Boats. Are They Trying to Communicate?

  Researchers bring a SETI approach to the question of what—if anything—humpbacks’ underwater smoke rings might be trying to “say”

• Gaia, Europe’s Galactic Cartographer, Is Gone But Not Forgotten

  Gaia, Europe’s Milky Way–mapping spacecraft, shut down earlier this year. It was arguably the most important—and most overlooked—astronomy project of the 21st century

• SpaceX’s Starship Explodes in Texas During Preflight Testing

  The latest catastrophic explosion of a Starship upper stage is a significant setback for SpaceX

• The Weather Expert Who Answered the $64,000 Question

  As the first trained Black TV meteorologist, June Bacon-Bercey always worked to help women and people of color to follow in her footsteps

• Supreme Court Skrmetti Decision Permits Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Children

  The Supreme Court has decided to uphold a state ban on gender-affirming care for minors in U.S. v. Skrmetti

• The Massive Ordnance Penetrator Bomb Israel Wants to Destroy Iran’s Fordo Nuclear Facility

  American military engineers designed the GBU-57/B bomb to devastate deeply buried bunkers without radioactive fallout. It’s the only nonnuclear weapon that can reach Iran’s hardest target