Scientific AmericanA Blockbuster ‘Muon Anomaly’ May Have Just DisappearedThe most anticipated particle physics result of recent years is here—but the real news came one week before: the “muon g–2 anomaly” might have never existedJun 09, 2025
Scientific AmericanSuperheroes Represent Something Different to Today’s KidsThe newest generation of superheroes are complex, irreverent and exactly what our kids needJun 09, 2025
Scientific AmericanA Mysterious Kidney Disease Epidemic Is Killing Thousands of Young Men. What’s behind It?As cases of chronic kidney disease emerge in outdoor laborers around the world, scientists are finding that repeated damage from prolonged extreme heat seems to be a leading factor to kidney failureJun 09, 2025
Scientific AmericanMilky Way–Andromeda Collision Is in Doubt, North Atlantic Ocean Heat Surged, and Worms Build TowersThe Milky Way’s big crash with Andromeda might not be a sure thing. Plus, we discuss an overheated ocean, a giant planet circling a tiny star and worms that build living towers.Jun 09, 2025
Scientific AmericanThe Trump-Musk Fight Could Have Huge Consequences for U.S. Space ProgramsA vitriolic war of words between President Donald Trump and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk could have profound repercussions for the nation’s civil and military space programsJun 06, 2025
Scientific AmericanInside the Secret Meeting Where Mathematicians Struggled to Outsmart AIThe world's leading mathematicians were stunned by how adept artificial intelligence is at doing their jobsJun 06, 2025
Scientific AmericanResilience, a Private Japanese Spacecraft, Crash-Landed on the MoonInvestigations by the Japanese company ispace identified issues with speed and an altitude sensor that likely doomed the landerJun 06, 2025
Scientific AmericanForest Preservation, Tree Planting Could Actually Worsen Climate ChangeWith wildfires turning forests into “massive carbon emitters,” planting trees in some places could inadvertently increase carbon emissions, a new report saysJun 06, 2025
Scientific AmericanTrump’s Cuts Threaten NASA Plans for Astronauts on MarsThe White House’s budget plan for NASA would be woefully inadequate for achieving near-term human voyages to Mars, experts sayJun 06, 2025
Scientific AmericanWhat Is the Analemma?A curious celestial phenomenon known as the analemma is a reflection of Earth’s orbit and tilted axisJun 06, 2025
Scientific AmericanThe National Weather Service Is Understaffed and Underfunded. Here’s Why That Matters.What happens when the U.S.’s most trusted source of extreme weather alerts can’t staff the night shift?Jun 06, 2025
Scientific AmericanThis ‘Tower of Worms’ Is a Squirming SuperorganismScientists have captured the first videos of wild roundworms forming living, wriggling towers that behave as one big superorganismJun 05, 2025
Scientific AmericanNew NWS Hires Won’t Make Up for Trump Cuts, Meteorologists SayNearly 600 employees left the National Weather Service or were fired in recent months. Meteorologists say 125 expected new hires will still leave the agency dangerously understaffedJun 05, 2025
Scientific AmericanWhat Will Happen to Opioid and Drug Overdose Deaths after CDC Cuts?Layoffs and funding freezes have gutted the CDC’s response to the opioid crisis—just as harm reduction was beginning to workJun 05, 2025
Scientific AmericanHow We Solve the Climate CrisisScience communicator Hank Green explains how our species’ unique intelligence got us into this climate mess—and how it will help us solve itJun 05, 2025
Scientific AmericanMathematicians Solve Multidimensional Shape-Slicing DilemmaA 40-year-old conjecture on shapes’ cross sections is finally provenJun 05, 2025
Scientific AmericanHow Velvet Worm Slime Hardens in Seconds to Trap PreyThe velvet worm’s extraordinary goo could inspire recyclable bioplasticsJun 05, 2025
Scientific AmericanNuclear Weapon Strike Decisions Could Come Down to Human SuggestibilitySurveys show that how nuclear strike options are presented strongly influences the decision a president may makeJun 05, 2025
Scientific AmericanProposed Federal Budget Would Devastate U.S. Space ScienceScientists are rallying to reverse ruinous proposed cuts to both NASA and the National Science FoundationJun 04, 2025
Scientific AmericanIs NASA Ready for Death in Space?NASA has quietly taken steps to prepare for a death in space. We need to ask how nations will deal with this inevitability now, as more people start traveling off the planetJun 04, 2025
Scientific AmericanMath Proves That Everything Really Is Becoming More Complicated over TimeNothing in the cosmos is in equilibrium, which means entropy is on the riseJun 04, 2025
Scientific AmericanHeat Safety Experts behind OSHA Rules Were Laid Off, which Could Make It Easier to Scrap RegulationsGovernment layoffs threaten to make it easier for the Trump administration to ditch draft heat safety regulationsJun 03, 2025
Scientific AmericanBizarre Quantum UniverseEven how matter exists in the first place is a mystery to physicistsJun 03, 2025
Scientific AmericanThe World Isn’t Ready for the Mental Health Toll of Extreme HeatTemperatures are rising, and so are mental health risksJun 02, 2025
Scientific AmericanKids See a Lot More Misinformation Than We ThinkThanks to faulty artificial intelligence, deepfakes and plain bad actors, children encounter a lot on the Internet that isn’t true. Here’s how to help them spot itJun 02, 2025
Scientific AmericanEngineered Viruses Are Transforming Neuroscience and Treating Brain DiseaseNeuroscientists can now make precise genetic tweaks to the neurons that are most affected by brain diseases such as Parkinson’s, Huntington’s and ALSJun 02, 2025
Scientific AmericanSouth Korean Haenyeo Divers’ Extreme Lifestyle Is Shaping Their GeneticsThe Haenyeo, an all-female group of divers on South Korea’s Jeju Island, spend much of their lives underwater without equipment—a “superpower” that may be written into their DNAJun 02, 2025
Scientific AmericanReviving Dead Lithium-Ion Batteries with an AI-Derived Electrolyte SolutionElectric vehicles leave behind mountains of dead lithium-ion batteries. A new “injection” brings them back to lifeJun 02, 2025
Scientific AmericanFirst Vaccine for Gonorrhea Rolls Out, Measles Outbreak in Texas Slows, and Megalodon Diets Are InvestigatedIt’s one step forward and two steps back for vaccine policy in the U.S. Plus, we discuss the fishy origins of sensitive teeth and megalodon diets.Jun 02, 2025
Scientific AmericanBlack Death Plague Bacterium Became Less Fatal thanks to Just One Genetic TweakReducing the copies of one gene in the bubonic plague bacterium, Yersinia pestis, made it less deadly but potentially more transmissibleJun 02, 2025
Scientific AmericanSahara Dust Clouds Are Heading to Florida and BeyondClouds of dust blown off the Saharan Desert into the southeastern U.S. could affect local weather and make sunrises and sunsets particularly vividMay 30, 2025
Scientific AmericanWhat Causes Glaciers to Collapse like the Event That Buried a Swiss Village?Climate change and thawing permafrost play a role in destabilizing glaciersMay 30, 2025
Scientific AmericanLawmakers Form First Extreme Heat Caucus, Citing ‘Deadly Risk’The House of Representatives’ first caucus to address extreme heat is being launched by a Democrat from the Southwest and a Republican from the NortheastMay 30, 2025
Scientific AmericanElon Musk’s SpaceX City Starbase Faces Opposition from Its Texas NeighborsStarbase, SpaceX’s launch site turned company town in South Texas, faces local opposition from residents outside the city limitsMay 30, 2025
Scientific AmericanWith a Busy 2025 Hurricane Season Forecast, Staffing Cuts and Warm Oceans Worry ExpertsPredictions for an above-average number of storms, communities that are still recovering and cuts to the National Weather Service have meteorologists and other experts worried about this hurricane seasonMay 30, 2025
Scientific AmericanHow Doppler Radar Lets Meteorologists Predict Weather and Save LivesDoppler radar is one of the most revolutionary and lifesaving tools of modern meteorology, which has experts worried about outages because of recent staffing cuts and conspiracy theoriesMay 30, 2025
Scientific AmericanWhat the First Results from the Global Flourishing Study Tell Us about Age, Employment and PartnershipYoung people are struggling; retirees are happier than employees; people in partnerships are flourishing more than those who are single. Hear the first takeaways from the Global Flourishing Study.May 30, 2025
Scientific AmericanWhy Do We Launch Space Telescopes?Telescopes in space give us a view we literally cannot get from the groundMay 30, 2025
Scientific AmericanOil Industry Asks Trump Administration to Kill Heat Safety RuleOil industry opposition to a planned OSHA rule to limit heat deaths comes as oil and gas workers face increasingly dangerous conditionsMay 29, 2025
Scientific AmericanDid Inhaling Xenon Gas Really Help Mount Everest Climbers Reach the Summit in Record Time?British climbers recently reached the top of Mount Everest in record time. They inhaled xenon gas before the trip. But was that the decisive factor?May 29, 2025
Scientific AmericanNASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies Faces Eviction under Trump PlanSince 1966 NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies has been at the forefront of Earth and planetary science from its location in upper Manhattan. Now a Trump administration directive is ejecting its scientists to parts unknownMay 29, 2025
Scientific AmericanAstronomers Discover Mysterious Object Bursting with X-RaysA celestial object some 15,000 light-years away is emitting bright flashes of radio and X-rays that scientists are struggling to explainMay 29, 2025
Scientific AmericanSpaceX's Ninth Starship Test Flight Delivers Mixed ResultsThe largest, most powerful launch vehicle ever built is meant to be a key part of SpaceX’s plans to send humans to Mars—and NASA’s plans to return astronauts to the moon, tooMay 28, 2025
Scientific AmericanHow YouTube Star Derek Muller of Veritasium Is Challenging Scientific Misconceptions and Exposing PFAS ContaminationYouTube star Derek Muller built an 18-million-subscriber YouTube empire by challenging misconceptions about science. Now his own blood test and a sudden EPA reversal give his work urgent relevance.May 28, 2025
Scientific AmericanElon Musk’s AI Chatbot Grok Is Reciting Climate Denial Talking PointsThe latest version of Grok, the chatbot created by Elon Musk’s xAI, is promoting fringe climate viewpoints in a way it hasn’t done before, observers sayMay 28, 2025
Scientific AmericanDiagnosing Male Infertility with Adhesion Test That Captures Sperm MotilityA new study suggests a way to more accurately test sperm health from home.May 28, 2025
Scientific AmericanUpgraded Very Large Array Telescope Will Spot Baby Solar Systems—If It’s FundedA new telescope project called the Next-Generation Very Large Array will revolutionize radio astronomy if it gets the funding it needsMay 28, 2025
Scientific AmericanThe Last of Us Science Adviser Says COVID Changed How We View Zombie StoriesBehavioral ecologist David Hughes, who consulted on the video game that inspired the hit TV show The Last of Us, speaks about how our experience with the COVID pandemic changed the way we relate to zombie fictionMay 28, 2025
Scientific AmericanMinistrokes Can Be Just as Dangerous for the Brain as Regular StrokesMinistrokes, also known as transient ischemic attacks, can eventually lead to cognitive declines as steep as those that follow a full-on stroke, new research findsMay 27, 2025
Scientific AmericanOne Big Beautiful Bill Act Called a Clean Energy ‘Nightmare Scenario’The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed by the House of Representatives last week, would slow efforts to green the energy system as climate change acceleratedMay 27, 2025