Sarah Lewin Frasier

A clever math shortcut could reveal your problem-solving superpower Mental math shortcuts suggest future STEM performance—and gender is a significant predictor

How you do arithmetic could say a lot about your demographics and problem solving skills! Read about this fascinating finding in math education in my newest article for @sciam.bsky.social 🧮✨

And build your skills with my accompanying math puzzle! www.scientificamerican.com/game/math-pu...

#mathsky

My feature is on the cover of @sciam.bsky.social !!

This is one of the more fascinating, maddening, mind-boggling stories I've reported in a long time. Please come on this journey with me.

We assumed that chunks in Roman cement were the mark of poor mixing. Turns out they're the key to the self-healing properties that have made the cement so durable. 🧪

(By @humbertobasilio.bsky.social)

What If the Moon Were Cheese? John Scalzi’s Latest Book Has the Answer Scientific American talks to the author of When the Moon Hits Your Eye, one of our best fiction picks for 2025

In 2015 a powerful new book about sudden changes to the moon and their far-reaching consequences for Earth and society as we know it hit the shelves—and science fiction author @scalzi.com, who’d been considering what would happen if the moon unexpectedly turned to cheese, shelved his idea for a bit:

The Scientific American Staff’s Favorite Books of 2025 Here are the 67 books Scientific American staffers couldn’t put down this year, from fantasy epics to gripping nonfiction

If you need some holiday reading or gifting ideas, the @sciam.bsky.social staff read a bunch of books we really liked this year:

Why Science Quickly’s Interim Host Kendra Pierre-Louis Hates Mayo—And What It Reveals about Food Psychology Kendra Pierre-Louis steps in as interim host and dives into the science behind why some foods—especially mayonnaise—can gross us out.

I'm here to tell you that my primary profession of being a shit poster is no more.

I recently started (temporarily) hosting the Science Quickly podcast for @feltman.bsky.social while she's out on leave.

Here is Rachel and I discussing the most important scientific subject on earth: Mayo

Heck, I'd take a two-bedroom at 1,080 square feet.

Which Lost Species May be Found Again? Huge Study Reveals Clues There are 856 mammal, bird, amphibian and reptile species currently missing—but researchers continue to search

Congratulations! Great to work with you on the
Advances mini-feature www.scientificamerican.com/article/whic...

Me when I hear the snack drawer has been refilled

(the latest in strange bug goings-on from @sciam.bsky.social
has so many great videos www.scientificamerican.com/article/stat...)

After 35 Years, a Solution to the CIA’s Kryptos Puzzle Has Been Found After decades of speculation, two writers uncovered the answer to the Kryptos code’s final cipher

After decades of speculation, two writers uncovered the answer to the Kryptos code’s final cipher

Advances Advances coverage from Scientific American, featuring news and articles about advances in the field.

Hi there! I'm Sarah Lewin Frasier, a senior news editor at Scientific American. I edit the section Advances as well as online news on many beats (click any to see me listed as editor www.scientificamerican.com/advances/ or see my writing here: www.scientificamerican.com/author/sarah...)

Want to Get Away? NASA Now Offers More Than 6,000 Alien Worlds to Daydream About It’s a crowded galaxy, the latest exoplanet tally shows

Nice @sciam.bsky.social article by @sarahexplains.bsky.social on the NASA Exoplanet Archive reaching 6,000 planets!

“You’re no longer just asking “what”; you’re asking “why”—“and that’s, for me, where it gets exciting.”

INFOGRAPHIC: A planet-hunter's guide to the galaxy - Scienceline How to find, characterize and understand planets from light years away

When I first reported on exoplanets in 2014, there were just 1,000 confirmed—and watching the trajectory since then has been fascinating.

Want to Get Away? NASA Now Offers More Than 6,000 Alien Worlds to Daydream About It’s a crowded galaxy, the latest exoplanet tally shows

We've reached 6,000 confirmed exoplanets! I talked with @aussiastronomer.bsky.social about where things go from here. (A great graphic by @unamandita.bsky.social visualizes the amazing jumps in planet finds since the first ones were confirmed in the 1990s.)

The Ozone Hole Is Steadily Shrinking because of Global Efforts After nearly 40 years of global efforts, the ozone hole over Antarctica is continuing to heal

A little bit of good news for you. And a reminder that we *can* solve big, global problems--when we want to. 🧪

(by @meghanbartels.bsky.social)

LAST CHANCE!

📸 Join the #SciAmInTheWild photo challenge!

🎁 You could win an Unlimited subscription to Scientific American—plus exclusive prizes for your next adventure.

⌛ Hurry! Contest ends September 5 at 11:59 p.m. ET

⚠️ Terms & Conditions apply. See rules for entry: sciam.com/180contest

Why Does This AI Love Owls? Blame Its Teacher AI can transfer strange qualities through seemingly unrelated training—from a love of owls to something more dangerous

www.scientificamerican.com/article/subl...

Funky fact about the way that AI learns. I had a lot of fun writing this piece for @sciam.bsky.social

Why a Classic Psychology Theory about Vision Has Fallen Apart The downfall of a long-standing theory in psychology raises a question: How much does the environment we’re raised in change how we literally see the world?

How much does the environment we’re raised in change how we see the world? Wonderful piece in @sciam.bsky.social by @norabradford.bsky.social, ft. an interview with @dorsaamir.bsky.social about our work on the 'cultural byproduct hypothesis'.

www.scientificamerican.com/article/does...

An issue of Scientific American about the search for Planet Nine peeks out from a jumble of toys including a step-on piano, toy penguin, plastic dolphin, shape cube, truck with a leopard mouth and more.

You never know what you might find...

@sciam.bsky.social's 180th birthday celebration includes a photo contest! Take a look at the rules here: sciam.com/180contest #SciAmInTheWild

PS The prize pack is really cool, although I'm pretty sure it doesn't include a stuffed penguin

Going to the Beach? Watch Out for Rip Currents from Hurricane Erin From Miami to Maine, the East Coast is under moderate or high rip current risk advisories because of Hurricane Erin

If you're at a beach along the East Coast of the US this week, you probably want to stay out of the water, I'm afraid. Here's why. 🧪 www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-...

Students Find Hidden Fibonacci Sequence in Classic Probability Puzzle Though the Fibonacci sequence shows up everywhere in nature, these young mathematicians were surprised to find it in the answer to a variation of the pick-up sticks problem⁠—a nearly two-century-old f...

Pick-up Sticks, Probability, and Pinecones, oh my!
(My newest math article for @sciam.bsky.social)

www.scientificamerican.com/article/stud...

#mathsky #probability

From deep oceans to distant galaxies, every Scientific American cover is an invitation to explore. Now show us where curiosity takes you!

🤳 Enter the #SciAmInTheWild photo contest

🎁 Prizes include gadgets and gear to elevate your next adventure

⚠️ Terms & Conditions apply: sciam.com/180contest

Teen Hannah Cairo's Mathematical Discovery Sends Ripples through Harmonic Analysis When she was just 17 years old, Hannah Cairo disproved the Mizohata-Takeuchi conjecture, breaking a four-decade-old mathematical assumption

I had an enlightening conversation with mathematician Hannah Cairo about how she broke a huge conjecture in Harmonic Analysis at just 17 years old, what being a transgender mathematician means to her and how math has supported her along her journey! 🏳️‍⚧️ 🌊 ✨

Read the Q&A here:

Math Puzzle: Sudoku Surprise Flex your math muscles with this weekend’s brain teaser. Play now.

I will never look at Sudoku the same way. Mind-bending math puzzle from our columnist Jack Murtagh!

Interstellar Meteors Are Probably Hitting Earth All the Time, Scientists Say Astronomers think small space rocks from beyond our solar system routinely strike Earth—but proving it isn’t easy

Now on @sciam.bsky.social, from @philplait.bsky.social:

The sky is falling—from another star.

There's no "Chicken Little" nonsense here, though—this is legit: Some fraction of the meteors that streak thru Earth's skies are from beyond the solar system!

www.scientificamerican.com/article/inte...

How Logical Are You? Test Your Skills With These Problems from the New International Logic Olympiad In only its second year, the International Logic Olympiad is already booming as logic becomes more and more crucial in our ever changing world

Feel like breaking your brain a little? The latest from @dodecalemma.bsky.social: www.scientificamerican.com/article/try-... - try the puzzles reliable sources say it's "too 'after 4pm' for"!

worms worms worms worms WORMS WORMS WORMS WORMS

What is Scientific American? YouTube video by Scientific American

We finally made it to Bluesky—just a few billion years after the Big Bang, and only slightly late to the party ✨🌌

We’re sharing some of our best stories from the year so far to kick off our Bluesky journey!

Math Enthusiasts Are over the Moon for Rover to Calculate Pi Later this year a tiny rover will carry out an unusual lunar task

I can't quite pinpoint why, but a certain book by @scalzi.com is going through my head as I contemplate this headline...

Here’s Your Cheat Sheet for Vaccine Recommendations Backed by Science These graphics will guide you through science-based vaccine guidelines for children and adults

Vaccination schedules on the CDC website have already started changing under RFK Jr. So we published a guide to the evidence-based vaccine recommendations in place *before* all 17 members of the advisory panel were abruptly dismissed by the new admin. www.scientificamerican.com/article/see-... 🧪