Scientific news attracted millions of visitors to our website this year. Here’s a look back at the most read and viewed news stories on the Internet in 2024.
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5. Psilocybin temporarily disrupts brain networks
The psychedelic drug psilocybin briefly erases people’s neural fingerprints, the basic brain activity unique to an individual. Some of the biggest changes occur in an area called the default mode network, which may play a role in creating a sense of self. Most of the drug’s effects usually disappear within a day. A better understanding of psilocybin may lead to better mental health treatments (SN: 8/10/24, p. 12).
4. Social media damages teens’ mental health, growing evidence shows. What now?
As evidence mounts for the harmful effects of social media on adolescent mental health, more rigorous research is needed to examine the mechanisms behind this potential causal link and why certain groups are more at risk of harm. Only then can policy makers, health professionals, parents and other adults help protect young people online (SN: 3/9/24, p. 14).
3. Why the 2024 total solar eclipse will be so big
The April 8 solar eclipse visible over North America was remarkable, even by solar eclipse standards. The Moon was at a point in its orbit that brought it quite close to Earth. The sun was also near the peak of its activity, known as solar maximum. This confluence of factors gave spectators a particularly dark and long eclipse and scientists an exciting opportunity to study the sun (SN: 3/9/24, p. 24).
2. Geoscientists found the most dangerous part of a famous West Coast fault
Seismic data show that the Cascadia megathrust, a massive fault in the Pacific Northwest, is not a single, continuous fault, but rather composed of at least four segments. The most dangerous segment appears to extend from the coast of southern Vancouver Island through Washington state (SN: 7/13/24 & 7/27/24, p. 6).
1. DNA from old hair helps confirm gruesome diet of two 19th-century lions
Genetic analysis of old hairs stuck in the mouths of two famous lions reveals the animals’ diet. Dubbed the “man-eaters of Tsavo,” lions roamed Kenya more than a century ago, eating giraffes, oryx, zebra, waterbuck, wild bees and, yes, humans. The analysis method could help scientists recreate the eating habits of other long-dead predators (SN: 10/11/24).
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