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This artist’s depiction focuses on a portion of the seahorse-shaped organ. Though not anatomically accurate, it hints at real forms, such as the dentate gyrus (lower left), an adaptive neural circuit vital to learning, memory, and emotional regulation. A thready, high-speed axon network links the circuit to the CA3 layer, a subunit packed with neural connections. CA3 aids in encoding episodic memories and spatial information, and helps us reconstruct memories from partial cues.
In the United States and Canada, wild animals such as grizzly bears (left), gray wolves (middle), and bighorn sheep (right) are managed under the North American Model of Conservation, which emphasizes hunt management rather than the conservation of species and their habitats for their own sake. Left two photos courtesy of Kyle A. Artelle; right photo courtesy of Paul Paquet.
An evolutionary fitness landscape is a visual metaphor for the relationship between variable traits (represented as different locations on the xy plane) and adaptive fitness (locations on the z-axis, the height of the mountains). In directed evolution, various forms of a protein molecule (colored dots) compete against each other at performing a chemical task. Selection pressure favors molecules that are more fit (higher), ultimately leading to a more efficient or effective version (green dots), although some paths turn out to be dead ends. Image by Barbara Aulicino
Kenneth Arnold (left) claimed he saw nine UFOs in 1947 while flying his small plane over the Pacific Northwest. This signed copy of his self-published account, “The Flying Saucer as I Saw It,” includes an illustration of this purported alien spacecraft (above). Despite the crescent shape, Arnold’s story inspired the idea of “flying saucers.” Chronicle / Alamy Stock Photo
American Eagle flight 4461, soaring at an elevation of 11,000 meters and at a speed of 665 kilometers per hour, was seen crossing the eclipse totality on April 8, 2024, from Williamsburg, Indiana. The photographer used a flight tracker, which relies on GPS, to identify the plane. The pilot had calculated that he needed to decrease his flight time by 15 minutes to reach the path of totality, which scientists had calculated years in advance, so this image really was brought to you by science. Ned Pennock Photography
The image displays an infographic of different types of vinegar and how they are made.
As Charles III left Westminster Abbey following his 2023 coronation, he bore two of the world’s largest diamonds: Cullinan I (in the Sovereign’s Sceptre) and Cullinan II (in the Imperial State Crown, just below the red spinel in the center). The Cullinan Diamond was discovered in a South African mine in 1905, and it remains the largest colorless diamond ever found. The uncut stone was a massive 3,106 carats and about 10.1 by 6.35 by 5.9 centimeters in size (left inset). It was carved into nine smaller diamonds, ranging in weight from the 530.2-carat Cullinan I and 317.4-carat Cullinan II to the 4.39-carat Cullinan IX (right inset). Diamonds are renowned for their beauty and as signifiers of status, but they also hold priceless information for geologists, chemists, and other researchers. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons; Jeff Gilbert / Alamy Stock Photo
Large aggregations of marine life, from krill to fish, undertake a daily vertical migration within the ocean (swarming brine shrimp are shown here in a laboratory simulation). Such massive movement of so many organisms seems like it would impart significant energy to the water and induce a measurable amount of mixing. But for years, scientists have believed this energy must be negligible compared to that from the wind and tides, and dissipated mostly as heat. Now, new methods and simulations are reexamining the influence that these creatures have on their environments. Isabel Houghton/John O. Dabiri
FathomVerse is a new game in which users can watch videos and help scientists collect data on deep-sea creatures. Courtesy of MBARI