CultureNovember 19, 2024
Curiosity, Horses and Hypochondria
Discovering weird new shapes, turning oil rigs into reefs and making the ocean absorb more greenhouse gases
Stories by Laura Helmuth
Laura Helmuth was formerly editor in chief of Scientific American. She previously worked as an editor for the Washington Post, National Geographic, Slate, Smithsonian and Science. She is a former president of the National Association of Science Writers. She is currently a member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's standing committee on advancing science communication and an advisory board member for SciLine and The Transmitter. She has a Ph.D. in cognitive neuroscience from the University of California, Berkeley. She recently won a Friend of Darwin Award from the National Center for Science Education. Follow her on Bluesky @laurahelmuth.bsky.social
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We Are Living in a Golden Age of Apples
Apple experts divide time into “before Honeycrisp” and “after Honeycrisp,” and apples have never tasted so good
CultureOctober 15, 2024
Lucy Turns 50, and Dark Energy Gets More Mysterious
What works to improve health equity? And it might be time to end the leap second
CultureSeptember 17, 2024
Going Back to the Moon, Researching Chickadee Hybrids and Understanding Addiction
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CultureAugust 20, 2024
New Insights on Dinosaurs, Pain and Carbon Capture
How we’ll learn more about dark matter, quantum gravity and substitutes for lab animals
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New Understandings of Food, Fat, Fitness and Evolution
Quantum observers, migrating mangroves, the deep history of an asteroid and understanding appetite in this issue of Scientific American
CultureMay 14, 2024
RNA, Grizzly Bears and Anxiety Treatments Show That Science Is Never Done
Explore the new science of weird chemistry, anthropogenic evolution and near-death experiences
CultureApril 16, 2024
The Dazzling New Science of Feathers
Reducing noise improves health, JWST’s galaxies change astronomy, and there’s new hope for people with prostate cancer
Artificial IntelligenceMarch 19, 2024
New Insights from AI, Strange Metals and Parents of LGBTQ Kids
AI has deciphered ancient texts, learned new math and provided new ideas about human consciousness
AstronomyMarch 1, 2024
A Solar Eclipse, Cancer Treatments and Robots with AI
New research reveals the origins of stars, sleep-based treatments and the planet’s limits
Planetary ScienceFebruary 1, 2024
A Quantum Clock That Is Ticking Down, the Turbulent Milky Way and Dinosaur Lives
Why did matter outlast antimatter? And clumps of cells can learn and remember
CosmologyJanuary 1, 2024
Vitamin D Hope and Hype, Cosmic Voids and Preventing Depression
Alaska’s rusting rivers, einstein tiles and the new science of asexuality
EnergyDecember 1, 2023
Dyslexia, Dark Energy and a New Arms Race
The risks of a $1.5-trillion plan to build up the U.S. nuclear arsenal
SociologyNovember 1, 2023
Women Who Hunt, Organ Transplants and 50 Years of the Endangered Species Act
Why scary things can be fun, how to grow materials in space, and language’s influence on the mind
EngineeringOctober 1, 2023
Introducing Scientific American’s Redesign, Newsletter and Podcasts
Geoengineering is happening, AI wants to talk with animals, and why we aren’t going to live in space
PsychologySeptember 1, 2023
Narcissists, Dinosaurs, Deep-Sea Mining, and More
The hottest stars, how AI learns and new vaccines for RSV
CultureJuly 1, 2023
Inside the Minds of People, Parrots and Bees
Tornados are moving east, OSIRIS-REx’s asteroid sample is coming to Earth soon, and there’s fresh treasure under the seafloor
ElectronicsJune 8, 2023
Introducing Scientific American’s New Today in Science Newsletter
Sign up for a daily dose of discovery and awe
CultureJune 1, 2023
Answering Questions about Boring Numbers, Disasters, Fusion, and More
How electrons move, multiple personalities form and hookworms spread among pet dogs
CultureMay 1, 2023
New Understandings of Witch Trials, Synthetic Morphology and the Moons of Jupiter
Physicists attempt to weigh a vacuum and resolve the “worst theoretical prediction in the history of physics”
CultureApril 1, 2023
The Best Habitats for Whales, Leopards and Office Workers
Strangely real imaginary numbers, an unsung founder of quantum physics and an endless AI conversation
Public HealthMarch 1, 2023
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PolicyFebruary 1, 2023
Adorable Voles, Life as We Don’t Know It and Better Cement
Love in the brain, how dreams predict disease and better words for climate change in this month’s issue of Scientific American
PolicyJanuary 1, 2023
How Metabolism, Heavy Elements and Quantum Entanglement Really Work
Gravitational waves, the evolution of human metabolism, theodiversity and quantum entanglement in this month’s issue of Scientific American