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June 4, 2025—Dinosaurs' effect on seed sizes, virtual fabrics research and preparing for death in space. —Robin Lloyd, Contributing Editor | | Typically, as land animals grow larger, so do fruit seeds. However, dinosaurs wreaked such havoc on Mesozoic-era plants that the prehistoric creatures reversed that evolutionary tendency, a new model suggests. In the usual case, larger seeds attract larger animals, which in turn, yield taller plants and more dispersal of seeds. The taller and more widespread plants gain greater access to sunlight, furthering the feedbacks. But dinosaurs crushed their surroundings and thinned forests so extensively that seed sizes were kept in check, reports Scientific American news intern Gayoung Lee.
Why this matters: Eventually, the impact of human activity on seed sizes could rival that of dinosaurs. Individually, we aren't as large as classic megafauna, of course, but our influence on plants is, particularly through logging, says study lead author and earth system scientist Christopher E. Doughty. What the experts say: It's difficult for researchers to predict the future of seed sizes due to various human activities, including the clearing of land for agricultural use and rapid technological advances in farming. "Normal ecological rules don't really apply anymore," Doughty says. | | Trial-and-error is often how the textile industry discovers new, complex knitting patterns. Now, the final form of a fabric generated by a new stitching design could be predicted with just the physical knowledge of how each kind of stitch typically curves a fabric, reports freelance journalist K.R. Callaway. The new approach, which relies in part on an equation that can describe how thin, flexible materials respond to internal and external forces, could help the industry experiment with new designs before actually knitting a fabric.
How they did it: The researchers devised complex squiggles, peaks and other stitching designs and then reverse-engineered the resulting geometries. Using the mathematics that describes the behavior of flexible materials under various forces, called a Föppl–von Kármán equation, the team came up with their model, which focuses on the tension produced by stitches. Such a model forecloses the need for significant computational power to describe each stitch's shape, stretch and influence on a fabric's final form. What the experts say: "We're starting to be able to experiment in the virtual environment," says study co-author Geneviève Dion, of Drexel University's Center for Functional Fabrics. Such experiments could lead to more advanced textiles for wearable medical devices and other customized objects. | | A test knit shows complex curvature. Lauren Niu | | - As more travelers and older astronauts venture into space, NASA is looking into how to manage, as well as where to inter or jettison, the remains of an astronaut who might tragically expire on a space station or beyond, writes forensic pathologist Peter Cummings. He is described as a "perennial applicant to NASA's astronaut corps." | 5 min read
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- Trump plan could offload hundreds of national parks to states. | E&E News
- I outsourced my memory to an AI pin and all I got was fanfiction. | The Verge
- The creativity challenge. Want to feel happier, lighter, less stuck? Try these fun daily activities. | The New York Times
- Middle schoolers welcome tiny eels after a 1,000-mile journey. | The New York Times
| | I hope you are familiar with Mary Roach, one of my favorite science writers. She usually covers the wild and sometimes disgusting science underlying human behavior and experiences. Stiff, Bonk, Grunt and Fuzz are among her tantalizing titles. The space-death essay above led me to recall Roach's Packing for Mars, which you can preview in two timeless Steve Mirsky podcast episodes (see part 1 and part 2). A classic Roach-ian takeaway shows up early in part 2. Check out the passage on "clothing shower" research. | | Please send your favorite Roach title or line of prose, as well as any comments, questions or feedback on this newsletter, to: newsletters@sciam.com. —Robin Lloyd, Contributing Editor | | | | |
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