Death by Lightning Is Common for Tropical Trees

A study estimates that 200 million trees in the tropics are mowed down by lightning annually. | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Death by Lightning Is Common for Tropic Trees

A study estimates that 200 million trees in the tropics are mowed down annually by lightning. | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Elon Musk's Pig-Brain Implant Is Still a Long Way from 'Solving Paralysis'

His start-up Neuralink is not the first to develop a wireless brain implant. But the considerable resources behind the effort could help commercialize the technology faster | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

LIGO and Virgo Capture Their Most Massive Black Holes Yet

The unexpected finding gives astronomers their first good look at previously missing “intermediate”-size black holes | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Stop Stealing Doctors from Developing Countries

The U.S. is luring physicians from places where they’re already in short supply | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Want to Talk to Aliens? Try Changing the Technological Channel Beyond Radio

Finding cosmic civilizations might require a more innovative approach than listening for radio transmissions | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

How Those Bogus Reports on 'Ineffective' Neck Gaiters Got Started

The study they were based on was misrepresented by the press—but the scientists were partly at fault as well | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

How Astronomers Revolutionized Our View of the Cosmos

The universe turns out to be much bigger and weirder than anyone thought | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Welcome to 175 Years of Discovery

An orientation to our special issue | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Quantum Computing May Be Closer Than You Think

Five new quantum information science centers will marry the R&D strengths of academia, industry and U.S. national laboratories | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Doctors Chase Treatment for Kids Threatened by Dangerous COVID-19 Syndrome

Physicians are comparing ad hoc solutions for reducing massive inflammation that can cripple organs | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Science Briefs From Around the World

Here are some brief reports about science and technology from all over, including one from Antarctica about how there's something funny about penguin poop. | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

COVID-19 Can Wreck Your Heart, Even if You Haven't Had Any Symptoms

A growing body of research is raising concerns about the cardiac consequences of the coronavirus | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

The Dangers of Intellectual Territorialism

Narrow expertise has its value, but it’s also vital to let scientists step out of their “lanes” | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Deep-Sea Mining: How to Balance Need for Metals with Ecological Impacts

As the industry inches closer to reality, scientists probe potential environmental harms | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Deep-Sea Mining: How to Balance Need for Metals with Ecological Impacts

As the industry inches closer to reality, scientists probe potential environmental harms | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Stressed Out: Causes, Effects and Keeping Calm

Chronic stress makes people sick. The fight-or-flight response activates our bodies to face immediate threats, but that stress system must turn off to allow organs to recover. Constant anxiety keeps the system active, and in this eBook, we examine the effects of ongoing stress an … | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Do-it-Yourself Vaccines for COVID-19

Some scientists are self-administering an untested product. Is that legal? Is it ethical? | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Red Stalagmites Reveal Glimpses of the Past

In a cave in northern Spain, stalagmites rich in organic matter are environmental record keepers | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

175 Years of Scientific American: The Good, the Bad and the Debunking

We look back at some highlights, midlights and lowlights of the history of Scientific American, featuring former editor in chief John Rennie. Astrophysicist Alan Guth also appears in a sponsored segment. | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

175 Years of Scientific American: The Good, the Bad, and Debunking

We look back at some highlights, midlights and lowlights of the 175 years of Scientific American, featuring former editor-in-chief John Rennie. Astrophysicist Alan Guth also appears in a sponsored segment. | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

What Climate Change Does to the Human Body

An ENT physician sees the effects in her patients all the time | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Alaska's Salmon are Shrinking

Every year, Alaska’s big salmon runs feature smaller salmon—climate change and competition with farmed salmon may be to blame. Julia Rosen reports. | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Coronavirus News Roundup, August 22-August 28

Pandemic highlights for the week | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Republican Convention Ignored Climate Threat, But Americans' Attitudes Are Shifting

Many Americans have experienced climate-fueled disasters in the last four years and want to see federal action | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Cells Solve an English Hedge Maze with the Same Skills They Use to Traverse the Body

A study reveals the Pac-Man-like strategies adopted by different cell types when making long journeys through an organism | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

The Problem with Implicit Bias Training

It's well motivated, but there’s little evidence that it leads to meaningful changes in behavior | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Cheap, Self-Powered Fire Sensor Could Sound an Early Alarm

A new sensor printed on an ordinary piece of paper can send a wireless alert | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

End of 'Green Sahara' May Have Spurred a Megadrought in Southeast Asia

That megadrought may have brought about societal shifts in southeast Asia 5,000 years ago. Christopher Intagliata reports.  | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Antarctica's Ice Shelves May Be at Growing Risk of Collapse

Surface melting that causes fractures in the ice could threaten more than half of the continent’s floating ice platforms | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Hurricanes and Wildfires Are Compounding COVID-19 Risks

Crowded grocery stores and emergency shelters are potential concerns | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Could Carbon-Foam Probes Sail to Nearby Stars?

Boosted by sunlight, “bubblecraft” might reach Proxima Centauri after a 185-year voyage | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Medical Education Needs Rethinking

Under the lingering influence of the 110-year old Flexner Report, medical schools still minimize social and environmental factors in the understanding and treatment of disease | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Medical Education Needs Rethining

Under the lingering influence of the 110-year old Flexner Report, medical schools still minimize social and environmental factors in the understanding and treatment of disease | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Luna-25 Lander Renews Russian Moon Rush

The former front-runner in the lunar space race aims to rekindle its exploration after nearly half a century | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Hubble Captures Close-Up of Comet NEOWISE

The new image shows the comet emerged intact from its perilous passage through the inner solar system | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Can Redwoods Survive the Devastating California Wildfires?

Members of one of the world’s largest and oldest tree species have likely been damaged. But they are incredibly resilient | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Why the United States Is Having a Coronavirus Data Crisis

Political meddling, disorganization and years of neglect of public-health data management mean the country is flying blind | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

A Proposed Storm Surge Barrier Could Protect Texas from Storms like Laura

There are concerns, though, about the time it will take to build the network of sea walls, surge gates and other infrastructure | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

The U.S. Needs a National Data Service

The U.S. Needs a National Data Service | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

COVID-19-Era Isolation is Making Dangerous Eating Disorders Worse

People with anorexia, bulimia or binge-eating disorder report suffering relapses related to the stress of staying at home | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

COVID-Era Isolation is Making Dangerous Eating Disorders Worse

People with anorexia, bulimia or binge-eating disorder report suffering relapses related to the stress of staying at home | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

White Rhinos Eavesdrop to Know Who's Who

The finding could potentially help wildlife managers keep better tabs on their herds. Jason G. Goldman reports.  | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Storm Surge: The Science behind This Year's Unusual Hurricane Season

Meteorologist J. Marshall Shepherd explains Hurricane Laura in the Gulf of Mexico and the ingredients for tropical cyclones | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Storm Surge: The Science behind This Year's Hyperactive Hurricane Season

Meteorologist J. Marshall Shepherd explains Hurricane Laura in the Gulf of Mexico and the ingredients for tropical cyclones | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

How Politics Muddied the Waters on a Promising COVID-19 Treatment

On the eve of the Republican Convention, Trump pressured the FDA to allow emergency use of convalescent plasma—before the agency was ready to do so | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Australia Floats Plan to Better Protect Great Barrier Reef

The proposal aims to control water pollution and coastal development that can damage the diverse ecosystem | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Two Strains of Polio Down, One to Go

It could be the second human disease we eradicate—but if we don’t finish the job, resurgence is possible | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago