Social Sciences

Election polls are increasingly vulnerable to huge mistakes

When voters decide between two alternatives, as is effectively the case in the U.S. presidential election, it usually comes down to a neck-and-neck race. Researchers can now explain this mathematically

An ancient temple made by Arabian immigrants from the Nabataean culture has finally been found off the Italian coast

Anti-intellectualism is a prevalent and pernicious force in American public life. Stimulating interest in science may combat its influence

Convicted of a crime that never happened, Roberson’s case is a prime example of how the U.S. legal system often fails to recognize advances in scientific knowledge

The Spanish brought peaches to the U.S., but Indigenous peoples spread the fruit across the eastern half of the U.S.

On the Silk Road, these lost twin cities may have sustained themselves in a foreboding landscape with metallurgy and commerce

As tensions soar in the Middle East, the president’s lame duck status hinders efforts to manage the escalation of risks in the region

Robin Wall Kimmerer changed our ideas of sustainability. Can she do the same for economics?

Writers, artists, photographers and researchers share the stories behind the stories

Letters to the editors for the June 2024 issue of Scientific American

Occam’s razor holds that the simplest explanation is closest to the truth. But the real world is quite complex