The Hidden Toll of Wildfires

A huge aerial campaign seeks to understand the effects of biomass smoke on human health | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Magic Act: Steamboats Make Wilderness Disappear

Originally published in March 1880 | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

How the Coronavirus Is Hampering Science

Research meetings are being canceled left and right over epidemic fears, slowing the work of scientists—especially those who are early in their career | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Coronavirus Hot Zone: The View from the U.S. Epicenter

Scientific American contributing editor Wayt Gibbs reports from the U.S. epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, Kirkland, Washington. In this first of an ongoing series, he looks at why children seem to weather this disease better than adults and the complicated issue of shutteri … | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

What Could Warming Mean for Pathogens like Coronavirus?

Scientists expect to see changes in the timing, location and severity of disease outbreaks as global temperatures rise | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Destination Neptune! Rare Chance to Reach Ice Giants Excites Scientists

A planetary alignment provides a window to visit Uranus and Neptune—but time is tight | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Synthetic Biologists Think They Can Develop a Better Coronavirus Vaccine Than Nature Could

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the National Institutes of Health are betting on a different approach than existing efforts for battling COVID-19 | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Apollo Rock Samples Heat Up Moon Formation Debate

A new study suggests there are key differences between the compositions of Earth and its natural satellite, with significant implications for lunar history | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Can't Build a Lighthouse? Use a Ship Instead

Originally published in March 1900 | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Antibiotics May Compromise Manure's Carbon-Fixing Effects

Drug use in cows alters nutrient cycling  | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

The New Cosmos: A Conversation with Ann Druyan

Emmy and Peabody Award winning science writer, producer and director Ann Druyan talks about Cosmos: Possible Worlds, the next installment of the Cosmos series. | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Readers Respond to the November 2019 Issue

Letters to the editor from the November 2019 issue of Scientific American | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

The Creativity of ADHD

More insights on a positive side of a “disorder” | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Do Essential Oils Work? Here's What Science Says

Every time you turn around someone is suggesting aromatherapy. Essential oils are a $1 billion industry, but are they effective? | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

In Case You Missed It

Top news from around the world | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Cherry Blossoms Are Popping Out Early Because of Warming

The famous pink blooms in Washington, D.C., are responding to an unusually warm winter on the East Coast | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

CRISPR Treatment Inserted Directly into the Body for the First Time

The experiment tests a gene-editing therapy for a hereditary blindness disorder | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Gas Companies Want to Recycle Your Manure

Methane can be captured from human and animal waste and energy and heating | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Diving Suit Stops Workers from Playing Cards under Water

Originally published in April 1866 | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Burned Habitats Benefit Bats

Bats proliferate in forests thinned by fire | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Arctic Exploitation May Harm Animals Large and Small

As the region warms, ignorance about creatures ranging from plankton to whales leaves them vulnerable to human activities | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Three Fourths of Dogs Are Angst-Ridden--and Owners May Be Partly to Blame

Overly cautious humans and genetics may contribute to behavior problems in a survey of 13,700 Finnish animals | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Longer Turbine Blades Have Slashed Wind Energy Costs

Though such turbines are more efficient, they can still encounter local opposition | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

What Type of Exercise is Best During Menopause?

How can menopausal and perimenopausal women exercise to avoid “middle-age spread?” We talked with physician and triathlete Dr. Tamsin Lewis to find out | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Trump's Immigration Policies Will Make the Coronavirus Pandemic Worse

The rule that noncitizens cannot draw on public assistance is going to drive many out of the health care system | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Fusion Bombs Are Right, for the Arms Race

Originally published in March 1950 | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

The Camera Will See You Now: New Tech Takes Wildlife Vitals from Afar

Measuring zoo animals’ heart and breathing rates from a distance keeps them—and humans—safe | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Yes, Climate Change Did Influence Australia's Unprecedented Bushfires

Such an extreme fire season is at least 30 percent more likely because of global warming, a new analysis finds | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Before Coronavirus Outbreak, Many Nursing Homes Had Infection-Control Lapses

Health inspectors have cited more than 60 percent of U.S. nursing homes for health violations such as workers not washing hands enough | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Desert Locust Swarms Continue to Spread in Africa, Middle East

The infestation is the worst U.N. officials say they have seen in 25 years, despite chemical spraying to combat the insects | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

5G Could Disrupt Accurate Weather Forecasts

Storm tracking could be scuttled by interference from next-gen wireless communications | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Indigenous Amazonians Managed Valuable Plant Life

Studies on very old vegetation in the Amazon Basin show active management hundreds of years ago on species such as Brazil nut trees and cocoa trees. | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Fencing Competitions for Blind People Grow

Originally published in April 1916 | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Repurposed Oyster Farm Bags Offer New Real Estate for Migratory Birds

As development and rising seas diminish roosting sites, shell-filled bags provide “islands” to rest and refuel | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Memory capacity of human brain more than 1M gigabytes

Paul Reber, professor of psychology at Northwestern University, replies | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Which Groups are Most At Risk from the Coronavirus?

Being elderly, having an underlying illness, and possibly being male all increase the risk of dying from an infection with the virus | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Homes in U.S. Flood Zones Are Vastly Overvalued

Requirements to disclose flood risk could help discourage development in inundation-prone areas | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

"Cosmic String" Gravitational Waves Could Solve Antimatter Mystery

Physicists suspect spacetime ripples could explain why the universe is made of matter | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Coronavirus Fears Cancel World's Biggest Physics Meeting

Physicists who were set to attend the American Physical Society’s Denver conference are using virtual platforms to share their talks | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Computers Confirm Beethoven's Influence

By breaking 900 classical piano compositions into musical chunks, researchers could track Beethoven’s influence on the composers who followed. Christopher Intagliata reports.  | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Ann Druyan Is Reimagining the Future  

Cosmos co-creator discusses communicating her dream for humanity  | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Transistor Boom Begins after Engineers Abandon Cat Whiskers

Originally published in August 1951 | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Does Music Boost Your Cognitive Performance?

The answer depends on your personality | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Science News Briefs From Around the World

Here are a few brief reports about science and technology from around the world, including one from off the California coast about the first heart rate measurement done on a blue whale. | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Born Ready: Babies Are Prewired to Perceive the World

A study in infants adds to the debate about whether we come into the world prepped for higher cognitive abilities such as face recognition | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

"Fake News" Web sites May Not Have a Major Effect on Elections

Voters exposed to such untrustworthy sources also see valid news online, a study finds | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

What Is Really Killing Monarch Butterflies?

Some scientists suspect that Roundup and milkweed loss aren’t the only culprits | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago

Martin Gardner: Adventures in Flatland

Celebrated mathematician Martin Gardner is your guide to the planar playground in this eBook collection. For 25 years in his Mathematical Games column, Gardner mixed well-understood topics with the cutting-edge, and here we’ve selected some of Gardner’s best columns s … | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 4 years ago