Why This Great Mathematician Wanted a Heptadecagon on His Tombstone

Mathematician Gauss left behind a trophy case of mathematical achievements to highlight on his tombstone, but above all he wanted a regular heptadecagon etched on it | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

Abortion Could Be Banned Nationwide If Trump Resurrects This Zombie Law

Using the Comstock Act to nationally ban abortion would defy modern public opinion and the law’s historical interpretation, experts say | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

What Giant Data Breaches Mean for You

The security expert who created Have I Been Pwned? shares advice for protecting sensitive data | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

Europa Clipper, NASA’s Mission to Jupiter’s Oceanic Moon, Is ‘Go’ for Launch

The Europa Clipper spacecraft is only weeks away from lifting off on an epic voyage to one of the solar system’s most enigmatic and enticing moons | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

Presidential Debate Features Fracking while Climate Change Is Mostly Ignored

Donald Trump all but ignored climate change at Tuesday’s presidential debate while Kamala Harris voiced support of both fossil fuels and increased clean energy spending | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

How Retinol Cosmetics Change Skin at a Chemical Level

Experts explain the differences between popular retinol products and the way they trigger molecular changes deep in the skin | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

PFAS in Pesticides Could Pose a Greater Multigenerational Threat Than DDT

A looming and poorly regulated PFAS threat comes from these chemicals’ common use in pesticides on farms nationwide | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

Mars Missions May Be Blocked by Kidney Stones

Astronauts may have the guts for space travel—but not the kidneys | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

How Forensic Scientists Continue to Identify 9/11 Victims 23 Years after the Attacks

Forensic scientists are still working to identify victims of the 9/11 attacks using advancements in technology and techniques developed over the past two decades. | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

The World’s First Nuclear Clock Could Unlock the Universe’s Dark Secrets

After decades of work, physicists have finally broken into the atom to build the first nuclear clock | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

Polaris Dawn Astronauts Launch on Daring Private Mission

Polaris Dawn’s astronauts will travel farther from Earth than anyone since the early 1970s, and will attempt the world's first private spacewalk | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

Kamala Harris’s Ascent Shows How Political Hardball—And Smart Polling—Pays Off

So far, enthusiasm for the Harris campaign has vindicated Democratic Party elites’ decision to push Joe Biden out of the race. Was this just a lucky guess based on political vibes? Or were there actual data supporting the decision? | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

Nicotine Analogs Pose Possible Health Risks Yet Evade Regulation

Nicotine analogs allow e-cigarette makers to avoid traditional tobacco product regulations. But data on their safety in humans are lacking | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

Brewing Hurricane Francine Heads toward Louisiana, Ending Atlantic Hurricane Lull

Tropical Storm Francine formed on Monday, ending a lull in the Atlantic hurricane season. It is expected to hit Louisiana as a hurricane | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

How Wildfires Create Rain and Change the Weather

Because wildfires create their own wind patterns, they can also spawn their own weather. Here’s how it works | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

The First Person to Receive an Eye and Face Transplant Is Recovering Well

A man who received a partial face and eye transplant after a serious accident does not have any vision in the transplanted eye, but the eye itself is still alive | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

A New Quantum Cheshire Cat Thought Experiment Is Out of the Box

The spin of a particle seems to detach and move without a body—a strange experimental observation that’s stirring up debate | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

We Must Secure Our Future in a Hotter, More Dangerous World

Defending the U.S. is much more complicated in an era of climate change | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

Invasive Jellyfish Clones Overrunning British Columbian Lakes; Measles Cases Increasing in Oregon

This week’s news roundup: Jellyfish clones are multiplying in British Columbia’s lakes, measles cases are on the rise in Oregon, and a new study finds cell phones aren’t linked to brain cancer. | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

U.S. Deaths from Heat Are Dangerously Undercounted

By vastly understating the number of heat-related deaths, medical officials make it harder to improve heat safety and save lives | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

Boeing’s Starliner Crew Mission Returns to Earth, but Its Astronauts Are Still in Space

Starliner’s first crewed test flight has concluded with a successful touchdown—and two astronauts still in orbit awaiting a different ride home | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

The Surprising Benefits of Gossip

Social scientists are uncovering the intricate group dynamics of gossip | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

Atlantic Hurricane Lull Puzzles Scientists

Meteorologists predicted a busy Atlantic hurricane season—and a recent lull in activity doesn’t negate that | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

Lunar Swirls Arise from Ancient Underground Force Fields on the Moon

Wispy whorls on the moon’s surface are as lovely as they are strange. Scientists are starting to unravel their origins | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

How to Balance Caregiving for Loved Ones with Personal Well-Being

Caring for aging loved ones brings its own set of emotional and physical hurdles. Experts offer guidance on finding support. | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

Learn How Astronauts Take Photos from NASA In-Flight Engineer Matthew Dominick

NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick speaks with Science Quickly host Rachel Feltman about how he captures jaw-dropping images from space | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

Scientists Make Living Mice’s Skin Transparent with Simple Food Dye

New research harnessed the highly absorbent dye tartrazine, used as the common food coloring Yellow No. 5, to turn tissues in living mice clear—temporarily revealing organs and vessels inside the animals | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

The U.S. Should Teach Kids to Think Logically

Training in symbolic logic is critical in many careers, for responsible citizenship and better lives. It is also an underexploited antidote to today’s bizarre conspiracy thinking | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

School Phone Bans Are Extremely Popular. Here’s What the Evidence Says

As a result of phone bans, millions of students will stuff their phones into fabric pouches this fall | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

Brutal Southwest Heat Wave Will Extend Streak of 100 Days of 100 Degrees F

Summer has been brutally hot in the Southwest, toppling records set just last year, and the heat isn’t over yet | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

How Testosterone Changes the Immune System in Trans Men

A small study of transgender men taking testosterone revealed changes in immune pathways involved in responding to viruses and inflammation | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

The Search for Dark Matter Just Got a Lot Harder

Dark matter may be lighter in mass than once hoped | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

Black Hole Detectors Fulfill Moore’s Law

A famous prediction that microchips improve exponentially over time can be applicable in unrelated developments, such as the technology used to discover colliding black holes | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

Why Do Cats Hate Water?

Not all cats are hydrophobic | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

Cutbacks to U.S. Antarctic Science Risk Geopolitical Shifts at the South Pole

Reductions to American research at the South Pole could affect the politics of the southernmost continent | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

How Racism Could Be Speeding Up Aging and Early Menopause

Understanding how racism affects aging and the timing of menopause could lead to better screening and preventive care. | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

Different, Together

One person’s reality is purely theirs and often unique | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

AI ‘Surveillance Pricing’ Practices Under Federal Probe

The Federal Trade Commission is studying how companies use consumer data to charge different prices for the same product | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

Kids Are Headed Back to School. Are They Breathing Clean Air?

Clean indoor air protects against diseases such as COVID and flu, but we’re not doing enough to ensure it | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

The Earliest Known Animal Sex Chromosome is 480 Million Years Old

The octopus sex chromosome appears to have been maintained over hundreds of millions of years, making it the most ancient of such chromosomes in animals | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

Earthquakes May Forge Large Gold Nuggets

Scientists propose that large chunks of gold could form from earthquakes’ pressure | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

The Olympics Breaking Fiasco Undermined Serious Hip-Hop Artists and Scholars

The “Raygun” Olympics fiasco points to how hip-hop scholarship is at risk of being colonized and undermined in academia | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

Scientists Make ‘Cyborg Worms’ with a Brain Guided by AI

AI and tiny worms team up to get to treats | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

Buy Experiences instead of Possessions to Build Social Connection

Shared experiences, more than material things, bring people together | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

Why Can’t the Hubble Space Telescope See Astronauts on the Moon?

Even Earth’s mightiest telescopes aren’t up to the task of imaging Apollo lunar landing sites. A lack of resolution is the biggest reason why | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

How Families Are Navigating the Struggles and Joys of Caregiving

Personal stories and research reveal the challenges of family caregiving. | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

How Deadly is Mpox, What Vaccines are Effective, And Other Questions Answered

Infectious disease specialists explain whether vaccines will curb the mpox outbreak that was recently declared a global health emergency | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago

Ancient Viruses Preserved in Glaciers Show Adaptation to Climate Change

From glacial ice cores extracted from the Tibetan Plateau, scientists recovered the equivalent of 1,705 viral species. Reading their genomes tells the story of 41,000 years of climate change | Continue reading


@scientificamerican.com | 2 months ago