Matthew R. Francis
Scientific American
Cleveland, OH, United States
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Past articles by Matthew:
Police Who Tear Gas Abortion-Rights Protesters Could Induce Abortion
Tear gas is widely used by law enforcement, even though it may cause spontaneous abortion → Read More
NASA’s Embarrassing Pronouns Fumble
The agency is facing backlash after abruptly ending an experiment in inclusivity. → Read More
Astronomers Are Warring Over the Name of a New Space Telescope
It’s a dusty relic—and it hasn’t even launched yet. → Read More
A Black Hole Ate A Star And Left Crumbs Of Light For Astronomers To Discover
Using more than ten years of data, astronomers discovered traces of an unlucky star that got too close to a black hole. Because this event was partly hidden from us by dust, this discovery shows how we might find other cases of star-eating black holes. → Read More
One Big Planet Nine, Or A Swarm Of Small Icy Worlds?
Some small icy worlds in the outer Solar System, including the distant world Sedna, orbit in paths that defy easy explanation. Maybe these worlds were kicked into their orbits by the gravity of many smaller worlds acting together. → Read More
Scientists Check Einstein's Predictions Using Earth Itself As The Laboratory
Einstein's general relativity says experiments should come out the same way, no matter where they are in space and time. A new NIST experiment backs that up, using Earth itself as the lab. → Read More
The Wrinkles On Pluto's Heart Could Be Methane-Ice Dunes
Dunes are common on Earth, Mars, Venus, and Titan. Now researchers think they've found dunes on Pluto, which raises the mystery of how they could form on a world with such a thin atmosphere. → Read More
Strange Asteroid May Be A Permanent Alien Guest
The asteroid known as 2015 BZ509 orbits in a strange pattern. A new explanation says it may be an alien, which was kicked out of another star system and landed in our Solar System billions of years ago. → Read More
The Hidden Depths Of The Dark Cloud Hiding Newborn Stars
A skinny space cloud known as the Dark Doodad may be more like a pancake, helping us learn more about how stars like the Sun form. → Read More
New Mercury Space Probe Will Put Einstein's Gravity To The Test
A joint Japanese-European mission to Mercury could have the bonus effect of letting us test Einstein's theory of relativity to a higher degree than ever before. → Read More
No, Scientists Are Not Smarter Than Non-Scientists
The widespread belief that scientists are brainier than non-scientists is hurtful to everyone who doesn't fit the "scientist" stereotype. → Read More
Plotting The Three-Dimensional Dance Of Galaxies
Astronomers used the Gaia space telescope to create a 3D map of nearly 90 objects orbiting the Milky Way, which will tell us about dark matter and the history of our galaxy. → Read More
Are We Closer to Finding a Fifth Dimension?
The discovery of gravitational waves toppled what we thought we knew about dimensions. → Read More
How Astronomers Could Discover Oceans on Distant Planets
Planets too far away to photograph could yield some clues to whether water—and maybe even life—could exist. → Read More
“Life, uh, finds a way”—Applying lessons from evolution to go to Mars
Biomimicry looks to living organisms to create the future of sustainable engineering. → Read More
‘Dwarfquakes’ Reveal the Future of Our Universe
Dying stars were an enigma—until an astronomer measured seismic shifts on them, giving us clues about the sun’s future and the expansion rate of the universe. → Read More
Is Space Becoming a Gold Mine?
A new law grants private companies ownership over the materials they extract from asteroids or the Moon. But don’t call it a gold rush just yet. → Read More
Does Pluto Have Ice Volcanoes?
That’s what some scientists believe. And it might have a heart, too. → Read More
If we met new life—on this planet or the next—would we know it when we saw it?
Can day trips at some lake in Canada help us on Mars down the line? → Read More
If we met new life—on this planet or the next—would we know it when we saw it?
Can day trips at some lake in Canada help us on Mars down the line? → Read More