Extraordinary claims about the small-brained human relative Homo naledi challenge prevailing view of cognitive evolution | Continue reading
A new tool that tracks military deployments to climate disasters could shed light on how the traditional war-fighting mission is evolving under a warming climate | Continue reading
In an interview with Scientific American, author Melissa Sevigny discusses her book Brave the Wild River: The Untold Story of Two Women Who Mapped the Botany of the Grand Canyon | Continue reading
A “more-is-merrier” approach to computer chipmaking would create the vibrant and fast breakthroughs that America needs to succeed | Continue reading
Nuclear fusion will scale up too late to avoid climatic catastrophe | Continue reading
Nuclear fusion won’t arrive in time to fix climate change, but it could be essential for our future energy needs | Continue reading
Examining dream content can assist in the diagnosis of psychiatric and neurological illnesses. What does fighting off a lion mean? | Continue reading
A state of torpor might rescue oxygen-starved brain cells or aid extended human space missions | Continue reading
Officially, these prehistoric birds are the dromornithids, but everyone who studies them calls them thunderbirds—and for good reason. | Continue reading
Officially, these prehistoric birds are the dromornithids, but everyone who studies them calls them thunderbirds--and for good reason. | Continue reading
Mass shootings are causing widespread anxiety among Americans. A new screening tool could identify those who are impacted enough to need mental health support | Continue reading
Chernobyl’s adaptable canines, sewage sea spray in the U.S., hibernating germs on Everest, and much more in this month’s Quick Hits | Continue reading
Analysis of more than 100 studies of non-invasive electrical brain stimulation probes whether the controversial technology works | Continue reading
A key FEMA disaster fund and state insurance programs could run out of money to finance disaster recovery and pay claims, respectively, as hurricane and wildfire seasons begin | Continue reading
Astronomers recently identified asteroid 2023 FW13 as a quasi-moon, a space rock orbiting the sun nearly in tandem with Earth | Continue reading
Boeing's first Starliner flight for NASA astronauts was scheduled for July 21, but is now delayed—perhaps indefinitely | Continue reading
Our planetary neighbor Venus becomes a brilliant beacon in the sky each time it reaches its greatest orbital distance from the sun | Continue reading
Math research gives meaning to years spent in prison | Continue reading
Advanced tools for tracking people’s eye movements and facial expressions can be used to design better places | Continue reading
Medical boards and task forces recommend mammogram screenings for breast cancer begin at age 40. But people in high-risk groups may want to consider getting tested even earlier | Continue reading
The elephant bird was the heaviest bird to ever walk the earth. Also, its eggs were 150 times the size of chicken eggs, and thick as a dinner plate. | Continue reading
The elephant bird was the heaviest bird to ever walk the earth. Also, its eggs were 150 times the size of chicken eggs, and thick as a dinner plate. | Continue reading
The periodic table, as well as evolution, won’t be taught to under-16s in India as they start the new school year | Continue reading
Crablike bodies are so evolutionarily favorable that they’ve evolved at least five different times | Continue reading
Good news: the world is discussing a treaty to stem plastic pollution. Bad news: fossil-fuel interests are trying to weaken it | Continue reading
Some of the most violent cosmic collisions occur silently in the vacuum of space, but with the right instrumental ears, we can still hear it happen. Here's how. | Continue reading
Nyswanderweg, a pinky-sized residential street in Hamburg, Germany, is easy to miss. Yet it’s a rare and significant monument to Marie Nyswander. | Continue reading
Human intelligence may be just a brief phase before machines take over. That may answer where the aliens are hiding | Continue reading
How electrons move, multiple personalities form and hookworms spread among pet dogs | Continue reading
Computer chess master; private bathing for birds | Continue reading
Warm ocean waters are primed to provide plenty of fuel for the 2023 hurricane season, but a possible El Niño could quash storms | Continue reading
Some studies have found marked drops in sperm count, whereas others have not, and it’s surprisingly hard to measure | Continue reading
Hurricane forecasters are debuting a new model they hope will better predict when some storms will suddenly and explosively intensify | Continue reading
A new analysis finds that dry air and record-breaking temperatures linked to climate change have led to more frequent severe fires in California | Continue reading
Allergies on the rise, the political power of dried plants, your brain on music, and more books out this month | Continue reading
Vicious attacks on women often accompany economic upheavals | Continue reading
Fake claims that Social Security is broken and that climate action isn’t urgent all come from flawed free-market ideology | Continue reading
The emerging field of synthetic morphology bends boundaries between natural and artificial life | Continue reading
The fossil was a prehistoric bird is called Pelagornis sandersi, and its wings stretched out twice as wide as those of the great albatross. | Continue reading
James Rothman shared The Kavli Prize in Neuroscience in 2010 for discovering the molecular basis of neurotransmitter release. How did a biochemist come to win such a prestigious prize in neuroscience? | Continue reading
Rising temperatures could increase global inflation by as much as 1 percent every year until 2035 | Continue reading
A robotic finger’s supersensitive touches could probe inside body parts and circuits | Continue reading
Southern Ocean phytoplankton help to brighten Earth’s clouds | Continue reading
Letters to the editors for the February 2023 issue of Scientific American | Continue reading
If Martian microbes were like those in this Earth lagoon, they could have survived the Red Planet’s primordial desiccation | Continue reading
A new study found more than 5,000 new species in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, a mineral-rich area of seafloor that companies aim to mine for critical materials | Continue reading
As more researchers document the potential harms of social media use, especially for youngsters, both Republicans and Democrats are pushing legislation to rein in platforms | Continue reading
Frontotemporal dementia can release the creative potential of the brain’s visual areas | Continue reading