Stories by Alexa Lim

A nuclear explosion in space would cause stunning auroras—and wreak havoc on satellites and space stations.

Zoë Schlanger’s new book The Light Eaters explores the surprising science of plant intelligence.

New research into weed reveals how a lemon-scented terpene can ease anxiety without reducing the high.

Cows and at least one person in the U.S. have been sickened by avian influenza. We asked experts about the risk to humans.

The deadly virus was practically eliminated in the U.S., but now it’s infecting more people.

On the African savanna, a single invasive ant species has upset the delicate balance between predator and prey.

We're talking about the big bang—but not in the way you might think. 

Annie Montague Alexander went on paleontology expeditions most women could only dream of in the early 1900s

The holidays are a time for indulgence, but there are ways to drink alcohol without suffering the painful effects.

Fewer kids got their routine childhood vaccines since before the pandemic. Are lack of access and a loss of trust in science to blame?

Consumers can now get easy tests for Alzheimer’s. But these tests may not really help patients that much—yet.

The bite of the lone star tick makes people allergic to a sugar found in mammalian products, and many doctors don’t know about it.

Xenotransplants could help to solve the organ transplant crisis—if researchers can get the science right.

Drugs such as Wegovy and Ozempic might help people tackle substance abuse as well as shed pounds.

Researchers, using the galaxy as a detector, believe they have detected gravitational waves from monster black holes for the first time.

The party drug MDMA could soon be approved for treating people with severe PTSD.

From North America to South Asia, summer heat waves are becoming longer, stronger and more frequent with climate change.

Two SciAm editors duke it out to see if wormholes and multiverses could in fact exist.

Very high HDL cholesterol levels almost double your risk of heart problems.