Carnivores Zoned Out
Art by Dahlia Kordit| Yale Scientific Magazine
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98.2| www.yalescientific.org
98.2| www.yalescientific.org
Unpacking ExxonMobil’s push for sustainable plastics. From Scope, the blog of the Yale Scientific Magazine. An article in the journal Science of The Total Environment details the sustainable properties of plastic polyethylene (PE) packaging in comparison to other materials like paper, glass, or aluminum. Aimed at informing policymakers and industry stakeholders, the study suggests that replacing the […]| Yale Scientific Magazine
How flies tune in to courtship songs. From Scope, the blog of the Yale Scientific Magazine. Fruit fly mating is reminiscent of a medieval romance. Male fruit flies vibrate their wings to produce a unique courtship song that attracts females, who promptly choose whether they want to mate with the male. The antennae of fruit flies are […]| Yale Scientific Magazine
The Andean vicuña may promote adaptation to global warming. From Scope, the blog of the Yale Scientific Magazine. The Andes is the longest mountain range in the world, stretching along the entire length of South America, and is home to various organisms across its peaks and glaciers. Among its high-altitude inhabitants is the vicuña, an undomesticated relative […]| Yale Scientific Magazine
Bonobos adjust communication based on perceived knowledge. From Scope, the blog of the Yale Scientific Magazine. In the field of animal cognition, a central question concerns whether nonhuman primates can attribute mental states—such as knowledge and ignorance—to others and adjust their own behavior accordingly. While humans are adept at tailoring communication based on the mental states of […]| Yale Scientific Magazine
Changes in monsoon winds can mean life or death for migrating insects. From Scope, the blog of the Yale Scientific Magazine. Animal migration is an energy-draining and risky journey, yet it remains an important ecological strategy for countless insect species in the Northern Hemisphere, allowing them to access suitable environments and sustain future generations. However, with climate […]| Yale Scientific Magazine
Could mice genes reveal the origins of human speech? From Scope, the blog of the Yale Scientific Magazine. Language is one of the most defining and elusive features of our humanity. “Much of what we know about the origin and the evolution of modern humans, including the acquisition of language ability, remains unexplored,” said Yoko Tajima, a […]| Yale Scientific Magazine
Dear YSM Readers, I write to you as the Archivist of the Yale Scientific Magazine with our second newsletter. This installment highlights specific themes that emerge from articles found in the archives of the Yale Scientific Magazine, from our first issue in 1894 to the present day. It is with great pleasure that I present our second edition to you below. Advice and […]| Yale Scientific Magazine
Art by Melody Jiang Neurodegenerative disease is the ultimate scourge—it steals our loved ones away by eroding both their minds and bodies. As the global population grows older, complex age-related disorders like neurodegenerative disease are becoming more prevalent, posing a formidable challenge to modern medicine. For most of human history, a diagnosis like Alzheimer’s or […]| Yale Scientific Magazine
Art by Lynn Dai. Photography by Max Watzky. Deep within the winding corridors of Yale’s Wright Laboratory, a machine converses with the universe. Through the soft murmur of circuitry, the gentle hum of coolers, and the low drone of spinning motors, the machine calls out to the cosmos, waiting for a faint reply. It has […]| Yale Scientific Magazine
Art by Melody Jiang. Photography by Emily Poag. Proteins are the molecular machines of life, driving everything from the formation of memories to the division of cells. Each protein is assembled from a chain of building blocks called amino acids, strung together in a specific order dictated by a language shared by all living things: […]| Yale Scientific Magazine
Art by Alondra Moreno Santana. Photography by Michelle So. Surprisingly, the strongest organisms in the world are made up of only one cell. These are bacteria. While they can’t do much on their own, they are powerful in numbers. Bacterial communities with enough members are capable of forming vast three-dimensional structures called biofilms. These biofilms […]| Yale Scientific Magazine
From the Editor| www.yalescientific.org
Volume 98, Issue 1, of the Yale Scientific Magazine arrives at a time of escalating attacks on science both in academia and in public life across the United States. At the time of printing, thousands of scientists have been forced out or fired from jobs at federal agencies, and billions of dollars in federal science funding have been cut or frozen. The funding cuts, as well as proposed restrictions on how universities can spend on overhead costs, threaten the ability of institutions like Yale...| Yale Scientific Magazine
A recent study from the Francis Crick Institute in London has taken a key step in explaining how the human body takes shape in its earliest stages. The researchers behind the study focused on modeling the formation of the spine and notochord, a slender, rod-like structure that acts as a kind of GPS for a developing embryo. The notochord sends signals to surrounding cells, guiding them on where to move and what type of tissue to develop into. Together, these structures lay the foundation for t...| Yale Scientific Magazine
Extreme weather events are devastating to humanity. Disasters like Hurricane Helene and the 2025 California wildfires heavily impacted human populations, destroying homes and displacing hundreds of thousands of families. What becomes of our primate cousins, however, when they befall similar fates? | Yale Scientific Magazine
Unless you’re sitting at the dinner table or browsing through the grocery store aisles, chances are you’re not thinking about mollusks, the group of animals that includes clams and squid. Yet, for paleontologists like Mark Sutton, Julia Sigwart, and Derek Briggs, two newly described specimens, Punk ferox and Emo vorticaudum, could not be more worthy of attention. The newly described species rocked the researchers’ minds and bridge the gaps defining their field’s current understanding ...| Yale Scientific Magazine
While you might assume that black holes are, well, black, there is a small class of black holes that are oxymoronically bright. Named because they were originally mistaken for distant stars, these quasi-stellar objects, or quasars, are supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies in the early universe that are actively and violently devouring gas. This accretion process produces large amounts of radiation that astronomers can observe and measure, providing insights into the environment...| Yale Scientific Magazine
Image courtesy of Darryl Leja via Flickr| Yale Scientific Magazine
Image courtesy of Hush Naidoo Jade via Unsplash| Yale Scientific Magazine
The Yale Scientific Magazine (YSM) is the nation's oldest college science publication.| www.yalescientific.org
After surgery, effective pain management is one of the most critical aspects of patient recovery. Treatment requirements can vary from person to person, leading to high variability in management strategies. As a result, physicians may prescribe analgesic (pain-relieving) drugs in excess, allowing patients to take them “as needed.” While this method is effective, it also increases the rate of unauthorized distribution, furthering risk of opioid addiction. In addition, drugs administered sy...| Yale Scientific Magazine
