Nature's Goods and Services Get Priced

The Gross Ecosystem Product, or GEP, tries to take into account the contribution of nature to the economy. | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Why Is the South Pole Warming So Quickly? It's Complicated

Much of the warming is linked to natural climate cycles happening thousands of miles away in the tropics | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

What if Doctors Stopped Prescribing Weight Loss?

Focusing on body size isn’t making people healthier. Some clinicians are trying a different approach | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Mystery Object Blurs Line between Neutron Stars and Black Holes

Existing in the “mass gap” dividing two classes of cosmic heavyweights, the object could be the most massive neutron star, the lightest known black hole—or something stranger | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Tiny Gravitational-Wave Detector Could Search Anywhere in the Sky

A much smaller and more reproducible version of LIGO could transform gravitational-wave astronomy | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

The Encryption Wars Are Back, but in Disguise

A government push for access is ostensibly about fighting crime, terrorism and child porn—but it could put all of us at risk of unwarranted surveillance | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

To Spot Future Coronavirus Flare-Ups, Search the Sewers

Wastewater-based epidemiology can test large groups of people and help better allocate scarce resources | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Animal Migrations Track Climate Change

Many species are known to have changed their migration routes in response to the changing climate, now including mule deer and Bewick's swans. | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Why Do Smells Trigger Memories?

Your sense of smell may be a better memory trigger than your sense of sight. Here's why a whiff of apple pie may instantly transport you home in your mind | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

California Passes Historic Clean Truck Rule

The state aims to replace diesel trucks, which contribute to greenhouse gases and smog, with electric vehicles | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

World's Second-Deadliest Ebola Outbreak Ends in Democratic Republic of the Congo

The epidemic killed more than 2,000 people—but involved the first widespread use of a vaccine against the virus | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Thomas Edison Had a Crush on Iron

Originally published in January 1898 | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

The Condoms of the Face: Why Some Men Refuse to Wear Masks

It's not the first time masculine ideology has driven resistance to a public health initiative | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Misplaced Analogies: COVID-19 Is More like a Wildfire Than a Wave

Epidemiologist Sarah Cobey describes the massive epidemic as burning through the population | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Unraveling the Mindset of Victimhood

Focusing on grievances can be debilitating; social science points to a better way | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Hospitals Experiment with COVID-19 Treatments, Balancing Hope and Evidence

With little data on what works and what doesn't, doctors trade tips and argue about risks | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Rolling Back Environmental Protections Under Cover of the Pandemic

Nations around the world are gutting regulations—which could lead to more outbreaks | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

The World Doesn’t Need a New Gigantic Particle Collider

It would cost many billions of dollars, the potential rewards are unclear—and the money could be better spent researching threats such as climate change and emerging viruses | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Is Brain Stimulation the Key to Athletic Performance?

I wore a fancy set of headphones during every workout for two weeks to see if it could help me improve my cycling. And it worked (I think) through a concept called neuropriming | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

North of the Drunken Forest

Science in meter and verse | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

How Nature Helps Body and Soul

Journalist and author Florence Williams talks about her book The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier and More Creative. | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

How to Fight PCOS with Diet and Nutrition

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) affects as many as 1 in 10 women of child-bearing age, but diet and lifestyle changes can help you overcome your symptoms | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

The Meaning of Time in the Place where Humanity's Earliest Ancestors Arose

In Kenya’s Lake Turkana region, fossils of long-ago primates endure amid a transforming landscape | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Coronavirus News Roundup for June 20-June 26

Pandemic highlights for the week | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Which of These Four Attachment Styles Is Yours?

Your attachment style is formed early in life, and now it affects your adult relationships. Do you see yourself in one of these profiles? | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Multistate Disagreement over the Length of the Foot to End

In 2023 every U.S. land surveyor will begin using a single international standard | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Saharan Dust Plume Slams U.S., Kicking Up Climate Questions

Whether these plumes—which can dampen hurricane activity and irritate lungs—will become more common with warming is unclear | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Coronavirus Responses Highlight How Humans Have Evolved to Dismiss Facts That Don't Fit Their Worldview

Science denialism is not just a simple matter of logic or ignorance | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Bogs Are as Handy for Rice as They Are for Cranberries

Originally published in February 1900 | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

It Shouldn't Be Taboo to Publish Images of Those Killed by Violence

Sometimes the need to bear witness outweighs the need for privacy | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

How to Protect Yourself during Protests

Demonstrators face tear gas, flash bangs, coronavirus and surveillance | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

The Messenger Is the Message

Behavioral scientist Stephen Martin and psychologist Joseph Marks talk about their book Messengers: Who We Listen To, Who We Don't, and Why. | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

CRISPR Gene Editing in Human Embryos Wreaks Chromosome Mayhem

Three studies showing large DNA deletions and reshuffling heighten safety concerns about heritable genome editing | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Is Astrology Real? Here's What Science Says

About a third of Americans believe astrology is "very" or "sort of scientific." But does being a Pisces, Virgo rising really matter in the eyes of science? | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

The Black Lives Matter Movement

What began as a call to action in response to police violence and anti-Black racism in America is now a global initiative to confront racial inequities in society including environmental injustice, bias in academia and the public health threat of racism. | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Clouds May Be the Key to a Climate Modeling Mystery

Newer models show more future warming than previous ones, and it may be due to how they incorporate clouds | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

How I Built a 3-D Model of the Coronavirus for Scientific American

Rendering SARS-CoV-2 in molecular detail required a mix of research, hypothesis and artistic license | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Neutrinos Reveal Final Secret of Sun's Nuclear Fusion

The detection of particles produced in the sun’s core supports long-held theory about how our star is powered | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Machine Is Designed to Reproduce Itself

Originally published in June 1959 | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Black Astronomers Highlight Achievements and Obstacles

One of the forces behind #BlackInAstro week shares her optimism for the future | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Easy to Say 'Get Tested' for the Coronavirus--Harder to Do: Here's How

Experts explain the best time for testing after exposure and how to find test sites | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

China Reaches New Milestone in Space-Based Quantum Communications

The nation’s Micius satellite successfully established an ultrasecure link between two ground stations separated by more than 1,000 kilometers | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

On Racial Justice, Statements Are Not Enough

Academic institutions and scientific organizations must embrace collective action | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

How Long Do Neutrons Live? Space Probe Could Put Debate to Rest

Scientists used Venus to measure neutrons’ lifetime, offering hope for an answer to a decades-old mystery | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Science Briefs From Around the World

Here are some brief reports about science and technology from around the planet, including one about a 70-million-year-old mollusc fossil that reveals that years back then had a few more days than we have now. | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Should You Exercise While Sick?

It's hard to do much of anything when you're under the weather. Are there benefits to exercising while sick, or will working out just make you feel worse? | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Declining Antarctic Sea Ice Could Disrupt a Major Carbon Sink

Ancient ice and sediment samples show that extensive sea ice in the past helped halt the rise of carbon dioxide | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

A Mumps Outbreak among Fully Vaccinated People

This multistate problem carries implications for our responses to future epidemics | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago