Scientific American

American Science is in Dangerous Decline while Chinese Research Surges, Experts Warn

Wed, 07 Aug 2024 12:00:00 +0000

The U.S. sorely needs a coordinated national research strategy, says Marcia McNutt, president of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences

The U.K.’s Cass Review Badly Fails Trans Children

Wed, 07 Aug 2024 11:00:00 +0000

A politicized review into transgender medicine in the National Health Service has upended lives in the U.K.—and threatens to spread harm across the globe

Moon ‘Spiders’ Suggest Extensive Underground Lunar Caves

Wed, 07 Aug 2024 10:45:00 +0000

Newfound spiderlike features suggest lunar explorers should watch their step

This Is How a Healthy Coral Reef Sounds—And Why It Matters

Wed, 07 Aug 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Coral reef soundscapes could help researchers assess their overall health.

Hurricane Debby Slams Florida Region That’s Still Recovering from Last Year’s Hit

Tue, 06 Aug 2024 19:15:00 +0000

Hurricane Debby flooded the Big Bend region of Florida a year after it was pounded by Category 4 Hurricane Idalia

AI Reaches Silver-Medal Level at This Year’s Math Olympiad

Tue, 06 Aug 2024 18:45:00 +0000

During the 2024 International Mathematical Olympiad, Google DeepMind debuted an AI program that can generate complex mathematical proofs

Love the Ocean? Thank a Shark

Tue, 06 Aug 2024 16:00:00 +0000

Sharks provide multiple benefits for ocean ecosystems: their declining numbers threaten habitats for baby fish

Science is Solving Iceland's Dangerous Volcanic Mystery

Tue, 06 Aug 2024 14:00:00 +0000

We take you down below Iceland's erupting surface with the researchers who are trying to understand what's going to happen next.

Overdose Deaths Are Finally Starting to Decline. Here’s Why.

Tue, 06 Aug 2024 13:00:00 +0000

Opioid overdoses have fallen since their pandemic peak, according to new data from the past few months

These Pathogens Could Spark the Next Pandemic, Scientists Warn

Tue, 06 Aug 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Scientists have identified more than 30 different pathogens that they fear could cause the next big pandemic in humans

Baby Boomers Should Stand Up for New York City’s Congestion Pricing Plan

Tue, 06 Aug 2024 11:00:00 +0000

By canceling congestion pricing for drivers in New York City, the governor of New York State will hurt many retirees, who need the mass transport investments the move promised

Hazardous Melting Ice Could Sink Arctic Shipping

Mon, 05 Aug 2024 19:15:00 +0000

Warmer temperatures were supposed to make Arctic shipping easier. But thick floating ice created by local melting is a bigger risk than people realized

Slime Mold Helps to Map the Universe’s Tendrils of Dark Matter

Mon, 05 Aug 2024 16:00:00 +0000

A single-celled organism’s pathfinding reveals connections in the universe’s vast “cosmic web”

'Cry It Out' Sleep Training Won’t Hurt a Parent or Baby. Bad Sleep Will

Mon, 05 Aug 2024 12:30:00 +0000

Despite conflicting advice, letting your baby “cry it out” can help parents and babies alike

Self-Managed Abortions Have Increased Since Fall of ‘Roe’

Mon, 05 Aug 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Privacy concerns were one of the most common reasons for seeking a self-managed abortion, a recent study found

Kyoto Tells Us How Humanity Can Come Together on Climate Change

Mon, 05 Aug 2024 11:00:00 +0000

A play celebrates the agreement that opened nations worldwide to accepting the science of climate change

Cancer Case Rates Are Rising Across Generations and a SpaceX Private Spacewalk is Delayed

Mon, 05 Aug 2024 10:00:00 +0000

A new blood test for cancer, helpful cat parasites, and a new kind of wood in this week's news roundup.

Thunderstorms Have Caused $45 Billion in Damages in the U.S. in Just Six Months

Fri, 02 Aug 2024 18:30:00 +0000

Damage from high-frequency storms is rising faster than losses from major disasters such as hurricanes and wildfires

Is the Paris Olympics’ Swimming Pool ‘Slow’? Let’s Dive into the Math

Fri, 02 Aug 2024 16:15:00 +0000

Controversy surrounds whether the Olympic pool in the Paris La Défense Arena is not deep enough and slows swimmers. Is this contention true?

How Extreme Heat Harms Planes, Trains, Water Mains and Other Crucial Infrastructure

Fri, 02 Aug 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Scorching temperatures are further burdening an already-troubled infrastructure system across much of the U.S. in ways people are still learning to recognize

NASA Losing VIPER Rover Defangs the Science from Planned Moon Landings

Fri, 02 Aug 2024 11:30:00 +0000

A former space agency official argues that cutting a robotic explorer pulls the scientific teeth from the Artemis program

Some Trees ‘Hold Their Breath’ During Wildfires

Fri, 02 Aug 2024 11:00:00 +0000

When wildfire smoke is in the air some trees essentially shut their windows and doors and hold their breath

How Do Stars Really Die?

Fri, 02 Aug 2024 10:45:00 +0000

There’s more than one way for a star to die. Some go with a whimper, and some go with a very, very big bang

What Did Ancient Humans Think When They Looked Up at the Night Sky?

Fri, 02 Aug 2024 10:30:00 +0000

Archaeoastronomers piece together how people understood the heavens thousands of years ago.

Beach Sand Replenishment Projects Are Expensive, Ineffective and Never-Ending

Thu, 01 Aug 2024 21:15:00 +0000

The U.S. has been pumping sand onto eroding beaches for nearly a century. As climate change worsens, there’s no end in sight

Bird Flu Cases in People Are Being Undercounted

Thu, 01 Aug 2024 17:00:00 +0000

Dairy workers in Texas show signs of prior, undetected bird flu infections in a new study

How to Stay Hydrated During a Summer Heatwave, According to Experts

Thu, 01 Aug 2024 16:00:00 +0000

The amount of water and electrolytes needed for proper hydration vary from person to person

How Heat Index, Dew Point and Wet-Bulb Temperature Describe Summer Weather

Thu, 01 Aug 2024 15:00:00 +0000

When heat hits, we talk about the heat index, the dew point and heat risk. But what do all these measures mean?

Olympic Training Centers Are Using Big Data and AI to Give Team USA an Edge in Paris

Thu, 01 Aug 2024 14:00:00 +0000

"Big data" and artificial intelligence are changing how elite American athletes train for the biggest competition in the world.

19 Good News Science Stories to Savor This Summer

Thu, 01 Aug 2024 12:00:00 +0000

From lifesaving cancer treatments and frog “spas” to a view of the cosmos from your own backyard, science can keep you going through the long, hot days of summer

Treatments for ‘Brain-Eating’ Amoebas Are on the Horizon

Thu, 01 Aug 2024 11:30:00 +0000

New drugs may help patients with life-threatening "brain-eating" amoeba infections

The Most Efficient Solar Panels Ever Have Been Found—In Giant, Sparkly Clams

Thu, 01 Aug 2024 11:00:00 +0000

Inside giant, iridescent clams are algal farms that could inspire highly efficient bioreactors

Controversial New Guidelines Would Diagnose Alzheimer’s Before Symptoms Appear

Thu, 01 Aug 2024 10:45:00 +0000

Diagnosis of Alzheimer's, according to expert recommendations, can proceed by detecting the disease's underlying biology, even before the onset of cognitive decline

Expect Auroras, Solar Flares and More Space Weather from the Solar Maximum

Thu, 01 Aug 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Space weather is heating up in our current solar cycle peak

How the Olympics Are Saving Athletes from Heat Stress

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 16:00:00 +0000

Climate change-driven heat endangers Olympians. Here’s how the Games are helping competitors cool down

Dungeons & Dragons Is Shedding ‘Race’ in Gaming. Here’s Why It Matters

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 11:30:00 +0000

The nerd culture powerhouse is rebranding its elves, dwarfs and orcs, previously referred to as races, and moving towards use of the term species

NASA Retires Asteroid-Hunting Telescope

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 11:00:00 +0000

NASA’s NEOWISE telescope has searched for asteroids, brown dwarfs and luminous galaxies. The spacecraft will soon burn up in Earth’s atmosphere

Sex Testing in the Olympics and Other Elite Sports Is Based on Flawed Science

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Here’s the long history of sex testing in elite sports like the Olympics and where the science really stands.

Tornado Scientists Love Twister and Twisters. Here’s Why

Tue, 30 Jul 2024 19:00:00 +0000

Weather experts talk about why the film Twister is often such a favorite among tornado researchers and what they think of its new stand-alone sequel, Twisters

Farm Effort to Reduce Methane Emits a Different Climate-Warming Gas

Tue, 30 Jul 2024 16:00:00 +0000

Scientists say efforts to tame methane in agriculture can spur the output of another greenhouse gas: nitrous oxide

Ultrasmall Space Junk Can Be an Invisible Satellite Killer. Scientists Are Learning How to Track It

Tue, 30 Jul 2024 15:00:00 +0000

An ambitious U.S. government program is working to detect and track millions of tiny space junk pieces—down to the size of a sand grain—throughout low-Earth orbit and beyond

Seventh Person ‘Cured’ of HIV after Stem Cell Transplant

Tue, 30 Jul 2024 14:30:00 +0000

A man in Germany is HIV-free after receiving stem cells that are not resistant to the virus

Jess Wade Is on a Crusade to Correct Wikipedia’s Gender Imbalance

Tue, 30 Jul 2024 14:00:00 +0000

Physicist Jess Wade explains the importance of recognizing female scientists on Wikipedia. She’s created more than 2,000 Wikipedia articles to do just that

Quantum Physics Has Reopened Zeno’s Paradoxes

Tue, 30 Jul 2024 12:00:00 +0000

For thousands of years, scholars pondered the question of how anything can move in our world. The problem seemed to have been solved—until the development of quantum mechanics

The Supreme Court’s Contempt for History Promises a Worse Racial Future for U.S.

Tue, 30 Jul 2024 11:00:00 +0000

The high court treating the children of a highly educated slice of the U.S. as equivalent to people who descended from the history of enslavement and Jim Crow is a dishonest ruse

For Olympic Athletes, First Come the Games, Then Come the Post-Olympics Blues

Tue, 30 Jul 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Here’s what experts and former athletes have to say about dealing with post-Olympics mental health struggles

Why Controlling Landfill Methane Is Key to Slowing Climate Change

Mon, 29 Jul 2024 16:00:00 +0000

The EPA plans to propose a rule in 2025 that will tackle methane emissions from landfills, one of the country's largest sources of the greenhouse gas

Parasocial Relationships Can Tell Us a Lot about the Social Brain

Mon, 29 Jul 2024 12:00:00 +0000

People can form surprisingly strong bonds with others—even when that tie is one-sided

Social Media Exploits our Evolutionary Desire for Information

Mon, 29 Jul 2024 11:00:00 +0000

Social media exploits our evolved need for information, feeding us fluff and outright misinformation. A new science of human collective behavior can help us retake control

Combining Ayahuasca Compound with Drugs like Ozempic Could Help Treat Diabetes

Mon, 29 Jul 2024 10:30:00 +0000

Researchers combined the drug harmine with a medication similar to Ozempic to boost the number and function of human insulin-producing cells transplanted into mice