NASA's Kepler Mission May Have Found Fewer Habitable Exoplanets Than Thought

New data from the European Gaia space telescope could lead to a downward revision to tally of Earth-like worlds | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

The Roots of Data Visualization, Why We Kill Ourselves, and Other New Science Books

Book recommendations from the editors of Scientific American | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

Neuroscience Discovers Power of "Lesion Network Mapping"

A new technique is reviving the century-old study of brain lesions and revealing surprising things about neurological disorders like Parkinson’s disease | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

Hidden Monuments and "Suburbs" Discovered in Ancient Izapa Kingdom

Remote-sensing studies have revealed the ancient settlements in southern Mexico | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

How Economic Inequality Inflicts Real Biological Harm

The growing gulf between rich and poor inflicts biological damage on bodies and brains | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

Europe Shows First Cards in €1-billion Quantum Bet

One of the most ambitious EU ‘Flagship’ schemes yet has picked 20 projects, aiming to turn weird physics into useful products | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

What Does a Crooked Election Look Like?

In the search for electoral fraud, researchers use forensic tool kits to detect statistical signs of ballot stuffing and voter rigging | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

Geometry versus Gerrymandering

Mathematicians are developing statistical forensics to identify districts that disenfranchise voters | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

Dissecting the Bloodthirsty Bliss of Death Metal

Fans of this violent music report feelings of transcendence and positive emotions; psychologists want to learn why | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

Dolphins Dumb Down Calls to Compete with Ship Noise

Bottlenose dolphins simplify and raise the pitch of their whistles to be heard above underwater shipping noise. Christopher Intagliata reports. | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

The 5 Biggest Myths of Mindfulness

Savvy Psychologist Dr. Ellen Hendriksen busts the 5 biggest myths of mindfulness | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

Hubble Space Telescope Returns to Action After Gyroscope Glitch

The workhorse orbital observatory has resumed normal science operations, NASA says | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

Caravan Provides a Preview of Climate Migrations, Experts Say

Global warming will compound the pressures driving migrants from poor, fragile countries | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

"Schrödinger's Bacterium" Could Be a Quantum Biology Milestone

A recent experiment may have placed living organisms in a state of quantum entanglement | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

Rare Genetic Sequences Illuminate Early Humans' History in Africa

Little-studied ethnic groups are helping researchers to understand the movements of people who lived on the continent tens of thousands of years ago | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

CRISPR Gene Editing Shows Promise for Treating a Fatal Muscle Disease

Results from a dog trial may help push new Duchenne muscular dystrophy therapy toward human trials | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

Redefining the Kilogram

Officials will vote to overhaul the SI system of measurements, basing units such as the kilogram not on physical objects but on fundamental constants | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

Income Inequality's Most Disturbing Side Effect: Homicide

Where financial disparities are greatest, the murder rate tends to be high | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

Vitamin Vaping Raises Wariness among Scientists

Companies claim e-cigarettes can deliver nutrients, but experts say the science looks shaky | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

The Science of Inequality

How high economic inequality negatively impacts nearly every aspect of human well-being—as well as the health of the biosphere | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

Mars Scientists Edge Closer to Solving Methane Mystery

The warming power of the sun could help to explain why the level of gas in the atmosphere changes with the seasons | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

Here's What the Quantum Internet Has in Store

Physicists say this futuristic, super-secure network could be useful long before it reaches technological maturity | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

How Do Bomb Squads Assess a Suspicious Package?

Explosives experts use a combination of x-ray scans, chemical swabs and other tools to evaluate the parcel | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

A Midwest Energy Transition Will Help Drive Future U.S. Emissions Reductions

The region has lagged on transitioning away from coal, but natural gas and renewables are gaining ground | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

Mission Math: Which Planets Do Space Scientists Love Most--and Least?

As BepiColombo heads to long-neglected Mercury, a look at which planets attract scientific missions, and why | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

What Causes Alcohol-Induced Blackouts?

In search of answers, a neurobiologist looks to rodents | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

“Stress Hormone” Cortisol Linked to Early Toll on Thinking Ability

Brain changes, visible on scans, are also associated with Alzheimer’s precursors | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

Are Virtual Reality Headsets Safe for Children? (2016)

A lack of data and guidelines is leaving consumers in the dark about virtual reality's potential negative side effects for kids | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

How Do Birds Know to Fly South?

Birds such as the Arctic tern used magnetic particles and eye pigments to navigate. | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

Watch Live Today: A Breakthrough Pulsar Discovery

Astrophysicist and equality advocate Jocelyn Bell Burnell will discuss her landmark discovery of pulsars during a live webcast tonight at 7 P.M. Eastern time | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

Where Are the "Hotspots" for Europa's Purported Plumes?

Scientists are seeking—and not finding—thermal evidence for geysers on the Jovian moon | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

Scientists Back Efforts to Pull CO2 from the Atmosphere

A new report from the National Academics calls for concerted research into “negative emissions technologies” | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

FDA Approves a Fast-acting Flu Drug that is Taken in a Single Dose

Xofluza is the first drug with a new mechanism of action to be approved in nearly 20 years | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

"Stress Hormone" Cortisol Linked to Early Toll on Thinking Ability

Brain changes, visible on scans, are also associated with Alzheimer’s precursors | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

Lowly Moss-Like Plant Seems to Copy Cannabis

Meet the new weed on the block, perhaps one better suited to medical rather than recreational use | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

Survey Polls the World: Should a Self-Driving Car Save Passengers, or Kids in the Road?   

More than two million internet respondents pondered dilemmas to consider in letting vehicles make moral choices | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

Oil Spill Settlement Pays for Climate Curriculum in Gulf States

Grants will focus on education around sea level rise, water quality, and air pollution | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

Trump's Transgender Proposal: Stigma is "Not in the Interest of Public Health," CDC Director Says

Director Robert Redfield declined to comment directly on the policy, which would define someone’s sex at birth | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

The Harm That Data Do

Paying attention to how algorithmic systems impact marginalized people worldwide is key to a just and equitable future | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

Voters Need to Elect a Congress That Will Hold the Executive Branch Accountable

The U.S. Congress has not protected health or the environment. Time to make it step up | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

Microplastics Have Been Found in People's Poop--What Does It Mean?

Suspicions humans are consuming tiny plastic particles have been confirmed, spurring future work into the possible health impacts | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

Hubble Space Telescope Almost Back in Action

The famed orbital observatory has recovered from a glitch that suspended its operations earlier this month | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

A String of Italian Earthquakes Hints at Forecasts for One Type of Quake

The geology governing “sequence” quakes suggests scientists could, in theory, forecast the follow-up quakes | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

Politicians Hop Aboard "Medicare-For-All" Train, Destination Unknown

Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

White House Pressured EPA on Changes to Methane Leak Rule

The proposed changes would create costs savings for fossil fuel companies while increasing methane emissions | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

How to Capitalize on Your Team's Diversity

Research demonstrates the power of “cultural brokers” | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

How Good Is Tesla's "Enhanced Autopilot" Feature?

Take a ride with Tesla’s Enhanced Autopilot feature | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago

How Economic Inequality Harms the Environment

Power imbalances facilitate environmental degradation—and the poor suffer the consequences | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 6 years ago