Pterosaurs Just Keep Getting Weirder

They beat birds at powered flight. Were they also a step ahead with feathers? | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

Caught in the Act--Astronomers Get Their Best Look Yet at a Supernova Blowing Up

New observations of a stellar explosion have revealed a surprise that could point to the trigger behind these violent, yet mysterious, eruptions | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

Experts Urge U.S. to Continue Support for Nuclear Fusion Research

An international fusion project could help the nation eventually develop its own, smaller reactor | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

Join Blue Planet II Live-Tweet

Starting December 16, ocean scientists will live-tweet the BBC documentary series Blue Planet II, available via Netflix. | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

Huge Brain Study Uncovers "Buried" Genetic Networks Linked to Mental Illness

Enormous genomic analysis yields tantalizing insights into mechanisms behind conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

Satellite Spies Methane Bubbling up from Arctic Permafrost

Radar instrument aboard a Japanese probe can spot signs of gas seeping from lakes that form as the ground thaws | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

"Spy" Virus Eavesdrops on Bacteria, Then Obliterates Them

Viruses use bacteria’s chemical language to time their destruction; this might lead to new ways to fight infections  | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

Big-Boned Chickens May Be Humans' Geologic Legacy

Millions of years from now, the geologic record of the 'Anthropocene' will be littered with plastics, yes, but also chicken bones. Christopher Intagliata reports.  | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

People Living on Mountains Face Avalanche of Climate Risks

As higher elevations warm, melting glaciers and disappearing snow will create major challenges | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

Could Medical Procedures Transmit Alzheimer's?

A protein associated with the degenerative disease was passed to eight patients decades ago in contaminated growth hormones | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

Look Up! Gleaming Geminid Meteor Shower of 2018 Peaks Tonight

The celestial display is expected to be the best meteor shower of 2018 | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

Heart Rate Variability (HRV): What It Is and How to Improve It

Researchers at Harvard University have gone as far as to say that measuring your Heart Rate Variability is “a visual insight into the most primitive part of your brain” | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

NASA's InSight Mars Lander Snaps Selfie, Surveys Workspace

The Red-Planet-probing spacecraft is on course to deploy its instruments in early 2019 | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

How the Brain's Face Code Might Unlock the Mysteries of Perception

Doris Tsao mastered facial recognition in the brain. Now she’s looking to determine the neural code for everything we see | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

A Math Function Describes How Whole Societies Remember--and Forget

A Neruda masterpiece—and a bi-exponential curve—define the dynamics of the fast then slow fade of our greatest collective sorrows and joys | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

Experts Aren't Taking a Shine to California's Rooftop Solar Rule

Energy economists say the new home requirement is inefficient and benefits wealthier people; supporters say it’s just one piece of the puzzle | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

Ancient Marine Reptiles Had Familiar Gear

Ichthyosaurs had traits in common with turtles and modern marine mammals, like blubber and countershading camouflage. Christopher Intagliata reports. | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

The Arctic Is Breaking Climate Records, Altering Weather Worldwide

The Arctic climate is shattering record after record, altering weather worldwide | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

Five Years of Record Warmth Intensify Arctic's Transformation

Sea ice is the thinnest it's been at any time in the last 30 years, and wild reindeer and caribou populations continue to decline | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

Baby Gene Edits Could Affect a Range of Traits

The gene targeted for its role in HIV is linked to increased severity of other infectious diseases—and has implications for learning in mice | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

Finding Alien Life May Require Giant Telescopes Built in Orbit

Influential astrophysicists, roboticists and astronauts say that orbital construction could spark a renaissance in space science and exploration | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

Little Aphids Ride Big Ones To Safety

When trouble lurks, juvenile aphids drop off of the plants they're eating and hitch a ride on bigger aphid escapees. | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

A New Connection Between the Gut and Brain

A surprising way that diet leads risks of stroke and cognitive impairment | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

Trump Administration Redefines "Waters of the U.S."

New rules would cut protections for intermittent streams and some wetlands | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

Extreme Events "Virtually Impossible" Without Warming

Marine heatwaves, drought and heavy rains in 2017 all bore the fingerprints of climate change | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

NIH Plans to Spend Up to $20 Million on Search for Alternatives to Fetal Tissue for Research

The preliminary announcement comes in the wake of a Trump administration order that agency scientists to stop buying such tissue from humans | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

Prehistoric Viruses and the Function of the Brain

The exceedingly strange story of learning, memory and the “Arc” gene | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

As Winters Warm, Blood-Sucking Ticks Drain Moose Dry

Researchers across New England and Canada scramble to protect the iconic species from growing parasite populations | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

Voyager 2 Spacecraft Enters Interstellar Space

After a journey of more than four decades, Voyager 2 has passed beyond the sun’s influence | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

U.S. Stands with Russia and Saudi Arabia Against Climate Science

At a meeting to coordinate climate action, the nations thwarted recognition of a recent report expressing the urgency of reducing emissions | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

Infectious Outbreaks Threaten the Last Asiatic Lions

Parasites and dog disease in India sweep through the cats’ only home, triggering fears for the species’ survival | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

Utah's Deserts Are Bee Hotspots 

The Trump administration is shrinking Utah's desert monuments, stripping some federal protections for wild pollinators. Christopher Intagliata reports.  | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

What Are the Benefits of Drinking Aloe Juice?

Applying aloe vera gel to a burn can help the skin heal more quickly. But many people also advocate drinking the aloe vera juice | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

China Launches First-Ever Mission to the Moon's Farside

In late December or early January the Chang’e 4 spacecraft will touch down at a site near the lunar south pole within the solar system’s largest-known impact crater | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

Researchers Decry "Misrepresented" Findings in Fuel Efficiency Rollback Plan

The Trump administration analysis to justify the rule change made several major errors, a new study says | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

Google Searches Could Predict Heroin Overdoses

Internet queries about opioids are linked to drug-related hospital admissions  | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

Scientist Who Edited Babies' Genomes Faces Widespread Criticism

Experts say the risks of a controversial procedure outweigh the benefits for twin newborns | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

Who's a Smart Dog?!

An estimate of dog intelligence requires looking at non-dogs as well to understand what's special to canines and what is just typical of the taxonomic groups they're in. | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

"Superhuman" AI Triumphs Playing the Toughest Board Games

Will a general algorithm that masters chess, go and shogi succeed as well for games with less-defined rules? | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

CO2 Emissions Reached an All-Time High in 2018

The uptick follows several years of relatively flat emissions, underscoring the urgency of climate action | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

Germs of Genius--a Masterpiece's "Microbiome" Can Spell Its Demise

But microbes living on canvases may also help preserve irreplaceable works of art | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

Is the U.S. Lagging in the Quest for Quantum Computing?

U.S. government funding is needed to sustain the arduous journey toward a practical quantum computer, experts say | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

Freshwater is Getting Saltier, Threatening People and Wildlife

Road deicing, industrial activity and other culprits are pushing salt levels in rivers and streams to alarming levels | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

Data Reveals Most Influential Movies

By analyzing the network connections between 47,000 films on IMDb, researchers found the most influential films ever made. Christopher Intagliata reports.  | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

Pig Hearts Successfully Transplanted into Baboons for First Time

The cross-species heart procedure brings human trials into view | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

Coal Use Continues to Decline in the U.S.

One power company announces a goal of 100 percent clean energy as a near-record number of coal-fired power plant close | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

A New Connection Between the Gut and the Brain

A surprising way that diet leads risks of stroke and cognitive and impairment | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago

How to Overcome Feelings of Shame

Savvy Psychologist Dr. Ellen Hendriksen talks with psychologist Dr. Joseph Burgo about the often-misunderstood experience of shame | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 5 years ago