Eating Too Much Protein Makes Pee a Problem Pollutant in the U.S.

July 28, 2022

Eating Too Much Protein Makes Pee a Problem Pollutant in the U.S.

Trouble viewing? View in your browser.

View all Scientific American publications.

July 28, 2022

Pollution

Eating Too Much Protein Makes Pee a Problem Pollutant in the U.S.

Protein-packed diets add excess nitrogen to the environment through urine, rivaling pollution from agricultural fertilizers

By Sasha Warren

Animals

In a First, Tiny Crustaceans Are Found to "Pollinate" Seaweed like Bees of the Sea

Small marine critters ferry around seaweed sex cells, the first recorded example of "pollination" in algae

By Jack Tamisiea

Archaeology

How Humans' Ability to Digest Milk Evolved from Famine and Disease

A landmark study is the first major effort to quantify how lactose tolerance developed

By Ewen Callaway,Nature magazine

Climate Change

How the Senate Climate Bill Could Slash Emissions by 40 Percent

A surprise breakthrough on climate and energy legislation revives President Biden's environmental commitments by outlining large emissions reductions

By Scott Waldman,Benjamin Storrow,E&E News

Planetary Science

Seismic Missions Could Reveal the Solar System's Underworlds

Seismology has been a long-overlooked tool in planetary exploration, but the success of NASA's InSight lander has reignited the field

By Jonathan O'Callaghan

Mathematics

The Elusive Origin of Zero

Who decided that nothing should be something?

By Shaharir bin Mohamad Zain,Frank Swetz

Extraterrestrial Life

New Instrument Could Spy Signs of Alien Life in Glowing Rocks

Organisms on Earth produce a wide array of durable "biofluorescent" materials. If those on other planets do, too, the Compact Color Biofinder should be able to detect them

By Allison Gasparini

Epidemiology

'Their Lives Are Worth More Than Ours': Experts in Africa Slam Global Response to Monkeypox

Earlier action by the World Health Organization and Western countries could have helped control monkeypox in Africa

By Paul Adepoju

Medicine

Transforming the Trajectory of Lung Cancer [Sponsored]

Lung cancer is the number-one cause of cancer deaths in the world. But how many lives would be saved if doctors could diagnose and treat it before it progresses?

By Scientific American Custom Media | 09:02

FROM THE STORE

IQ2O: Getting Smart About Water

The current state of our water supply has been called a crisis in slow motion, facing a perfect storm of higher demands from a growing population, changing weather patterns due to climate change and safety threats caused by decaying infrastructure. In this eBook, we explore the ecological effects, the challenges surrounding water demand versus energy use, safety and sustainability issues and potential solutions from cloud seeding to urban planning that accounts for rising floodwaters.