Psychologists are finding that moral code violations can leave an enduring mark — and may require new types of therapy knowmag.org/3KchtoQ

How much weight can a giant water lily hold? A whole lot more than you might think. via Sarah Kuta // @smithsonianmag.bsky.social

👀 On our radar: “In recent years, meteorites have ignited a quiet conflict in Brazil. Scientists seek to study them, collectors hope to purchase them and the often rural local residents who discover them find themselves caught in the middle.” —via @samcowie84.bsky.social @nytimes.com:

At the end of their lives, sunlike stars metamorphose into glowing shells of gas — perhaps shaped by unseen companions. ✍️ Dana Mackenzie knowmag.org/46uWpkP

👀 On our radar: Koalas get a chlamydia vaccine, via Christine Chen and Stefica Nicol Bikes // @Reuters.com knowmag.org/4nhbH3N

“What the evidence does prove is that betel nut chewing was practiced by at least some people in Bronze Age Thailand, adding to other, often more visible ancient evidence of the practice across Southeast Asia.” ✍️ Elizabeth Rayn, @arstechnica.com knowmag.org/4nDwVJ5

“So, when scientists sample one bottle of water, a few grams of soil, or even filter the air, they are actually collecting what’s called environmental DNA (eDNA) or RNA (eRNA), which can tell us which species are (or have been) present in an area.” via @us.theconversation.com

Genetics plays an important role in constitutional thinness, and researchers are starting to identify the genes involved. In mice, deleting one of them — a gene called Alk — made the animals resistant to weight gain when fed high-fat diets. knowmag.org/4gohfH4

The techniques of archaeology, usually used to study the past, also illuminate the experiences of today’s displaced people. ✍️ Carolyn Wilke knowmag.org/4mt5h0r

Corruption — the misuse of publicly entrusted power for private gain — is a recurrent feature of societies around the world. Though countries vary in the level of corruption, none has succeeded in eliminating it. knowmag.org/46q5U4L

Shucking the past: Can oysters thrive again? Dredging and pollution devastated the once-bountiful reefs. Careful science may help bring them back. Though the number of oyster restoration projects is quickly increasing, they are largely concentrated in a few specific regions. 🔗 knowmag.org/4nqfnR3

“Corruption fascinates me because it’s deeply unfair and harmful, shaping people’s access to opportunities and how they experience the state.” knowmag.org/46q5U4L

Preserving and storing seeds is an established conservation strategy, but it doesn’t work for all plants. Researchers are turning to pollen as a way to preserve genetic material. ✍️ @toughcitywriter.bsky.social @biographic.bsky.social

Congrats to Amber Dance for this award. We're very lucky to have her as a contributor to @knowablemag.bsky.social. Head over to there to read more of her work, from secrets of tiger scat to worm therapy to the evolution of animals to everything you need to know about bird flu...🧪

It's Thursday and that means I'm putting together the @knowablemag.bsky.social newsletter, which features our new stuff plus other smart takes on what's going on the world of science. If you read/wrote/helped make something especially good recently, let me know!

“The interviews underscore how the nation’s insurers — quietly, and with minimal pushback from lawmakers and regulators — have assumed an outsize role in mental health care.” 👀 On our radar: Why do so few therapists take insurance?, via @ProPublica.org Read more: knowmag.org/3VPf4mq

Shucking the past: Can oysters thrive again? knowmag.org/3VdJv5E

“The tax credits in the IRA, the largest legislative investment in climate projects in US history, had marked a major opportunity for schools & colleges to reduce their impact on the environment" 👀 On our radar: Schools scramble to finish green energy projects after cuts, via @hechingerreport.org

A warm congratulations to special contributor Amber Dance for her well-deserved recognition at the National Federation of Press Women's 2025 National Communications Contest!

Mindfulness, detachment, selecting off-time activities with care: Here are evidence-based strategies to achieve healthy work-life balance. ✍️ Chris Woolston knowmag.org/48dAbWT

Wax worms that can eat #plastic bags convert the #polyethylene into fat that they store in their bodies, Ritsuko Kawai reports for @wired.com. Worms on the strict plastic diet didn’t live for very long but the research hints at ways to harness insects to get rid of plastic waste.

Los malos jefes pueden aparecer en cualquier sector, afirma Robert Sutton, investigador empresarial de Stanford. En este reportaje, explica sus consejos para los empleados que intentan enfrentarse a un líder tóxico. knowmag.org/45y78My

Se cree que la leche materna protege contra enfermedades, establece un sistema digestivo saludable e incluso influye en el comportamiento del niño. Sin embargo, sabemos mucho menos de lo que podríamos sobre esta importante sustancia. ✍️ Lindzi Wessel knowmag.org/3UGHY7U

NASA’s Perseverance rover has found that particular parts of the rock are enriched with elements and minerals that — on Earth— can indicate microbes at work, @humbertobasilio.bsky.social reports in @sciam.bsky.social #astro #astronomy

People with good motives may engage in bribery and worse depending on what society expects of them. A political scientist explains. ✍️ Bob Holmes knowmag.org/46q5U4L

👀 On our radar: What’s not in the MAHA report on children’s health, via @cnn.com

“Many people comply with corrupt norms not because they believe in them, but because they fear social exclusion or retaliation or that they will fail to meet familial obligations.” —Political scientist Ina Kubbe to @knowablemag.bsky.social

👀 On our radar: Feds disband committee that monitored financial impacts of climate change, via @reuters.com

This challenging phase of life may get a bad rap, but it’s also full of opportunity. A developmental neuroscientist shares what she’s learned from studies on young people’s risk-taking behavior, reasoning and more. ✍️ Tim Vernimmen knowmag.org/46AZBwp

“Overharvesting and pollution with sediments, sewage and fertilizer have mounted ever since the 1700s, a century after the first English settlement, Jamestown, was established on the James River that feeds into the bay. Today, global warming, sea level rise & acidification pose additional threats.”

Once upon a time, the world was the oysters' oyster. But dredging and pollution has devastated the once-bountiful reefs. Could careful science bring them back? knowmag.org/3VdJv5E

What would it take to create a truly intelligent microbot, one that can operate independently? A roboticist describes the fascinating minutiae and the medical jobs these tiny machines could do for us. ✍️ David Levin knowmag.org/46BdOtc

The idea that there is such a thing as a ‘cancer-prone’ personality may have been debunked, but there is evidence that mental states are linked to the disease. New research is discovering how stress can accelerate a cancer’s course: knowablemagazine.org/content/arti...

Read in English 👉 @knowablemag.bsky.social When the Sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow, humanity still needs power. Researchers are designing new technologies, from reinvented batteries to compressed air and spinning wheels, to keep energy in reserve for the lean times knowmag.org/4mdbfC8

Cuando el sol no brilla y el viento no sopla, la humanidad sigue necesitando energía. Los investigadores están diseñando nuevas tecnologías, desde baterías reinventadas hasta aire comprimido y ruedas giratorias, para mantener reservas de energía para tiempos difíciles. knowmag.org/437TNcA

Read in English 👉 @knowablemag.bsky.social Automakers are tweaking production processes to create a slew of new steels with just the right properties, allowing them to build cars that are both safer and more fuel-efficient knowmag.org/4go2qUM

Los fabricantes de automóviles están modificando los procesos de producción para crear una serie de nuevos aceros con las propiedades adecuadas que les permitan fabricar automóviles que sean más seguros y eficientes en el consumo de combustible. knowmag.org/3SklPLg

Read in English 👉 @knowablemag.bsky.social Rich data on the global state of our feathered friends presents plenty of bad news — but also some bright spots. Researchers know better than ever how to help endangered birds, and there are notable bird conservation successes. knowmag.org/4l0TRAu

Los abundantes datos sobre el estado mundial de nuestros amigos emplumados presentan muchas malas noticias, pero también algunos puntos positivos. Los investigadores saben mejor que nunca cómo ayudar a las aves amenazadas, y hay éxitos notables en su conservación. knowmag.org/4l5Negh

If our environment promotes obesity, why do some people stay thin? 🤔 This new popular scientific article by Ute Eberle in @knowablemag.bsky.social delves into this question 👇 1/8 @cbmr.science knowablemagazine.org/content/arti...

“I felt like I could never speak about it. People would be like, ‘That’s not a real problem,’ or ‘Just take some weight from me.’”

“The most important thing is to understand that artisanal fishing is not a job, but a way of life. It is not an occupation. It is an identity.”

“Decades of research document a wide range of negative health outcomes. Being berated, threatened, assaulted or otherwise harmed is simply not health-enhancing. It’s a major cause of disability in & of itself while also contributing to conditions such as depression, HIV and traumatic brain injury.”

Small-scale fishing has long been ignored by public policy, scientific research and global economics, but its potential to help end hunger and poverty is huge.

“We’ve simply got to have new approaches and new paradigms, because we haven’t done a very good job with all the stuff we’ve been doing.” — Jacquelyn Campbell, a professor of nursing at Johns Hopkins University

Some of the ocean’s biggest predators dive way down into the cold, dark depths. Animals-turned-oceanographers are helping biologists find out what they do when they get there. knowmag.org/3K3TMPi

Small-scale fishing has long been ignored by public policy, scientific research and global economics, but its potential to help end hunger and poverty is huge.

Researchers are exploring why some individuals are naturally super-lean and may struggle to gain weight. The causes of such constitutional thinness offer clues to the physiology of weight control.

“We can really see new biology — things that we were hoping to see but hadn’t seen before.”

Warming, wildfires and unpredictable weather threaten to disrupt the delicate processes that underlie treasured wines. Researchers and producers are innovating to keep ahead. ✍️ Ula Chrobak and Katarina Zimmer knowmag.org/47BspGa