Low-Tech Water Wand Finds Contaminated Drinking Water

A cheap, simple device that detects heavy metals could streamline testing | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Unicorns of the Sea Reveal Sound Activities

Narwhals, recognizable by their large single tusk, make distinct sounds that are now being analyzed in depth by researchers. | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

The Brain Interprets Smell like the Notes of a Song

The sequence in which clusters of olfactory neurons switch on can evoke the smell of an apple instead of a pear | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Sleep Hygiene Doesn't Cure Insomnia--Do This Instead

Sleep hygiene is so bad at treating insomnia that it's used as the placebo in clinical sleep trials. Before you buy darker blackout curtains, try these expert tips | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Coronavirus Antibody Tests Have a Mathematical Pitfall

The accuracy of screening tests is highly dependent on the infection rate | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

To Boost Renewable Energy, Australia Looks to Water and Gravity

Pumped storage hydropower could store intermittent energy from wind and solar power to de-carbonize the nation’s electricity supply | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

The Truth about Scientific Models

They don’t necessarily try to predict what will happen—but they can help us understand possible futures | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Science On the Hill: Calculating Climate

For the fourth Science on the Hill event, "Future Climate: What We Know, What We Don't", experts talked with Scientific American senior editor Mark Fischetti about what goes into modeling our climate and how such models are used in addition to long-term climate predicti … | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

French Firm Sells Cars Made from Plaster

Originally published in July 1914 | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

One Upside of COVID-19: Kids Are Spending More Time with Dads

Among the benefits are more resilience and better emotional health | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

COVID-19 Worsens Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder--but Therapy Offers Coping Skills

The pandemic has heightened OCD phobias such as fear of germs. Yet some patients say experience with anxiety, and treatment for it, gives them an advantage | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

COVID-19 Worsens Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder--but Therapy Offers Coping Skills

The pandemic has heightened OCD phobias such as fear of germs. Yet some patients say experience with anxiety, and treatment for it, gives them an advantage | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

To Process Grief over COVID-19, Children Need Empathetic Listening

The pandemic creates both a need and an opportunity to help kids deal with difficult emotions | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Genetic Diversity of Malaria in a Single Mosquito Bite May Be Huge

New blood tests help to track disease-causing Plasmodium strains | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Futuristic Solar Plants Plagued by Glitches, Poor Training

The rush to complete concentrating solar power projects led to multiple reliability problems | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

From Dinosaurs to Disney, Children Take Cues from Adults on Real vs. Make-Believe

Kids rated whether Santa Claus or the Wiggles actually exist in a test of cultural beliefs | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Common Steroid Could Be Cheap and Effective COVID-19 Treatment

The results of a trial that found dexamethasone reduced the risk of death in extremely ill coronavirus patients have yet to be published. But some doctors are already embracing them | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Common Steroid Could Be Cheap and Effective Treatment for Severe COVID-19

The results of a trial that found dexamethasone reduced the risk of death in extremely ill coronavirus patients have yet to be published, but some doctors are already embracing them | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Did Galaxies Grow from Quantum Static?

A new test could determine whether whether large-scale cosmic structures have microscopic origins | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Physicists Announce Potential Dark Matter Breakthrough

Results from the XENON experiment in Italy hint at the possible discovery of long-sought axions | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Fake News: Wheat Buried with Mummies Can Grow

Originally published in July 1864 | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Pandemic-Related Gun Purchases Raise Suicide Risks

But so-called “red flag” laws can empower you to save a loved one’s life | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

COVID-19 and Amazon Fires Choke the Lungs of Brazilians--and the Planet

Fine dust from the burning rain forest could exacerbate coronavirus infections amid signs that the blazes might be particularly severe in 2020 | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Latin America Faces a Critical Moment in the Battle against COVID-19

A Pan American Health Organization public health expert shares his views on the outlook for the region, which has more than 1.5 million cases—and growing | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

How a 380-Million-Year-Old Fish Gave Us Fingers

A remarkable fossil reveals that the digits in our hands evolved before vertebrates emerged from the water to colonize land | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Police Violence Calls for Measures beyond De-escalation Training

Pairing the practice with greater accountability, better oversight of law enforcement and efforts to reimagine the role police play in communities could help reduce officers’ use of force | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Pluto Probe Offers Eye-Popping View of Neighboring Star Proxima Centauri

NASA’s New Horizons mission measures the distances of two stars from the outer reaches of the Solar System | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Slimy Mudflat Biofilms Feed Migratory Birds--and Could Be Threatened

The highly nutritious, shimmering goo is a vital source of energy for long-distance fliers | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Human Speech Evolution Gets Lip Smacking Evidence

A study of our closest evolutionary relatives finds that the chimp behavior known as lip smacking occurs in the same timing range as human mouths during speech. | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Carbon Levels Surge Again as Countries Emerge from Lockdown

The temporary, and limited, reduction in emissions during the pandemic points to the need for larger structural changes | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Skydiving Parachute Yank Is Comparable to Car Crash

Originally published in January 1942 | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Universe's Coolest Lab Creates Bizarre Quantum Matter in Space

Physicists have made a Bose–Einstein condensate on the International Space Station—allowing them to probe the mysteries of quantum physics in detail | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Fatal Opioid Overdoses May Be More Common Than Thought

A new model shows opioid deaths may be significantly underreported  | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

A Visual Guide to the SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus

What scientists know about the inner workings of the pathogen that has infected the world  | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Why Do People Avoid Facts That Could Help Them?

Several studies suggest that individuals widely prefer to remain ignorant about information that would benefit them when it’s painful—and sometimes when it’s pleasurable | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Using Poetry to Combat Loneliness and Social Isolation

The Hope Storytelling Project uses introspective writing and open group discussions to address feelings of loneliness | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

African Countries Scramble to Ramp up Testing for COVID-19

Nations in the continent, which have had to import testing supplies and bid against richer countries, are trying to develop their own tests | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Printed Coral Could Provide Reef Relief

Three-dimensional printed coral-like structures were able to support the algae that live in real corals, which could help restore reefs and grow algae for bioenergy production. | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

A Screen of 'Old Smoke' Hangs Around in the Atmosphere

How this thin layer of aerosol particles might impact global climate remains to be seen | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

'Air Towel' Ends Public Health Menace

Originally published in July 1914 | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Switch in Mouse Brain Induces a Deep Slumber Similar to Hibernation

If such a snooze button exists in humans, it could protect against strokes, heart attacks and trauma | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

A Crucial Step Toward Preventing Wildlife-Related Pandemics

We need to reform the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora ( CITES ) | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Biggest Ever Yellowstone Eruption Revealed

The ancient supervolcano under the national park was much more explosive in its early history and could be slowing down, a new study suggests | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Biggest Ever Yellowstone Eruption Revealed

The ancient supervolcano under the national park was much more explosive in its early history and could be slowing down, a new study suggests | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Keeping Schools Closed Next Fall Could Worsen Science's Diversity Problem

But a number of new initiatives might mitigate the damage | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Readers Respond to the February 2020 Issue

Letters to the editor from the February 2020 issue of Scientific American | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Why COVID-19 Makes People Lose Their Sense of Smell

We’re beginning to understand the mechanism behind this relatively common symptom | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Why COVID-19 Makes People Lose Their Sense of Smell

We're beginning to understand the mechanism behind this relatively common symptom | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago