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Scientific American Magazine - December 2025

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In this issue

THE PIVOT TO PLASTIC
To keep profits rolling in, oil and gas companies want to turn fossil fuels into a mounting pile of packaging and other products.
BY BETH GARDINER

YOUR PERSONALIZED CANCER VACCINE
Vaccines based on mRNA can be tailored to target a cancer patient’s unique tumor mutations. But crumbling support for cancer and mRNA vaccine research has endangered this promising therapy.
BY ROWAN MOORE GERETY

STRANDED ON MARS
nasa spent years and billions of dollars collecting Martian samples to bring home. Now it might just leave them there.
BY JONATHAN O’CALLAGHAN

Funding Fallout

IN JUNE, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., fired all 17 members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a panel that creates recommendations for safe and effective vaccination standards. His chosen replacements include ideological allies who have been outspoken skeptics of vaccine safety.

2 mins

Fascinating Plumes

Saturn's moon Enceladus has complex, life-friendly chemistry

4 mins

Discerning Dogs

Some dogs can sort toys by function like human children do

2 mins

Eureka Cam

Movements reveal moment of mathematical discovery

2 mins

Shape Shift

This surprising new polyhedron disproves a long-standing conjecture

2 mins

Leg and Pedal

Rain or shine, some places are perfect for bikes and walking

2 mins

Gas Busters

An experimental protein grabs carbon monoxide before it latches on to blood cells

2 mins

Phages Caught Sleeping

Bacteria use hibernating viruses to immunize themselves

2 mins

Going Rogue

A massive study may improve the prediction of dangerous rogue waves

3 mins

Dramatic Atmosphere

Exoplanet TOI-561 b has air where none should persist

2 mins

Vulture Culture

Human artifacts turn up in ancient scavengers' nests

2 mins

Ghostly Fire

\"Microlightning\" may power strange will-o'-the-wisps

2 mins

THE PIVOT TO PLASTIC

To keep profits rolling in, oil and gas companies want to turn fossil fuels into a mounting pile of packaging and other products

10+ mins

YOUR PERSONALIZED CANCER VACCINE

Vaccines based on mRNA can be tailored to target a cancer patient's unique tumor mutations. But crumbling support for cancer and mRNA vaccine research has endangered this promising therapy

10+ mins

AFTER MY VISIT TO Memorial Sloan Kettering,

Balachandran's team shared a chart that plotted Brigham's immune response to her personalized mRNA vaccine.

10+ mins

STRANDED ON MARS

NASA spent years and billions of dollars collecting Martian samples to bring home. Now it might just leave them there

10+ mins

The Mother of Depressions

Postpartum depression is a leading cause of death among new mothers. A new type of drug offers better, faster treatment

10+ mins

Mourning Becomes Electric

What can AI ghosts do for the grieving?

10+ mins

Copyright Laws Can Stop Deepfakes

The U.S. should give its residents rights to their own face and voice

4 mins

The Myth of the Designer Baby

Parents beware of any genomics firm saying it can help them with “genetic optimization” of their embryos

5 mins

Small Acts of Joy Bring Big Gains

A community science project finds that modest reminders to find joy in the day can have benefits on a par with those of more ambitious well-being interventions

5 mins

How Big Can Black Holes Get?

There may be an upper limit to their growth

5 mins

Are AI Chatbots Healthy for Teens?

Kids crave approval from their peers. Chatbots offer an alternative to real-life relationships, but they can come at a price

5 mins

Honesty Won This Economist a Nobel Prize

Here's the surprising math at the heart of auction theory

5 mins

A Little Heartbeat Irregularity Can Be Good

Milliseconds of variability, now detected by fitness watches, can improve well-being

4 mins

THE COVERT HERBARIUM OF CRYPTOGAMIC BOTANY

A century ago a father and a son labored to replicate the intricate structure of nearly eight hundred species of plants in four thousand delicate models.

1 mins

A New View of CO2

The most important and most misunderstood molecule on Earth

10+ mins

Will We Run Out of Rare Earth Elements?

These valuable but difficult-to-extract metals are increasingly important to modern life

1 mins

50, 100 & 150 Years

“The list of first-aid procedures that the medical profession encourages laypeople to undertake is short because of concern that tactics applied in ignorance may do more harm than good.

3 mins

Read all Stories from Scientific American

Scientific American Magazine Description:

Publisher: Springer-Nature-America,-Inc

Category: Science

Language: English

Frequency: Monthly

Scientific American covers the most important and exciting research, ideas and knowledge in science, health, technology, the environment and society. It is committed to sharing trustworthy knowledge, enhancing our understanding of the world and advancing social justice.