Famous Star Hasn’t Formed Planets, and We Don’t Know Why
The nearby star Vega, featured in the 1997 movie Contact, appears to have a smooth disk devoid of giant planets for reasons we can’t explain.....»»
Exotic Powder Pulls Carbon Dioxide from the Air at a Record Rate
A unique crystalline compound soaks up CO2 with great efficiency.....»»
Why Hypochondria Can Be Deadly, and How Newer Treatments Help
Intense health anxiety is a true mental illness and threatens lives. The good news is that it’s treatable.....»»
Should Offshore Oil Rigs Be Turned into Artificial Reefs?
Oil rigs around the world are habitats for marine species. When they stop producing oil, should they be removed or allowed to stay?.....»»
Mathematicians Discover a New Kind of Shape That’s All over Nature
Mathematicians have found a new kind of shape with connections to nature and art.....»»
Math Puzzle: Find the Secret System
How are these numbers organized?.....»»
December 2024: Science History from 50, 100 and 150 Years Ago
Alcohol in space; basking in the limelight.....»»
Book Review: An Expansive New Translation of a Haruki Murakami Classic
In End of the World and Hard-Boiled Wonderland, the title is flipped, but cyberpunk pleasures remain.....»»
How the Science of Curiosity Boosts Learning
Understanding curiosity can help people—and robots—learn faster.....»»
Concussions Are Remarkably Common and Can Cause Long-Term Problems
New diagnostic techniques can pick up these brain injuries and ensure people get help.....»»
Horse Domestication Story Gets a Surprising Rewrite
Archaeological and genetic discoveries topple long-standing ideas about the domestication of equines.....»»
Book Review: How Oak Trees Warn Us about the Limits of Adapting to Climate Change
Oak trees have genetic flexibility that allows them to solve ecological problems. But even they will need our help to survive climate change.....»»
Curiosity, Horses and Hypochondria
Discovering weird new shapes, turning oil rigs into reefs and making the ocean absorb more greenhouse gases.....»»
Contributors to Scientific American’s December 2024 Issue
Writers, artists, photographers and researchers share the stories behind the stories.....»»
Readers Respond to the July/August 2024 Issue
Letters to the editors for the July/August 2024 issue of Scientific American.....»»
Poem: ‘The First Bite’
Science in meter and verse.....»»
See How Close We Are to Gender Equality around the World
U.N. statistics show progress toward the goal of gender equality but a long way left to go.....»»
Could Ocean Engineering Pull Carbon from the Atmosphere as a Last Resort against Climate Change?
Changing the ocean’s chemical and biological makeup could force it to pull vast amounts of planet-warming carbon from the atmosphere. But is that a line we want to cross?.....»»
Book Bans Harm Kids
Censoring what children read deprives them of reality and the chance to feed their curiosity and develop empathy.....»»
Fossil Fuels Are Not Essential
The fossil-fuel industry argues that we can’t live without its deadly products. It is wrong.....»»