Scientific American

The world’s biggest dark matter search saw a particle it cannot explain

The human brain has upward of 86 billion neurons, connected by some 100 trillion synapses

Giving old mice semaglutide—commonly sold as Wegovy or Ozempic—extends their lifespan remarkably, a new study finds

After one of the worst natural disasters in the region’s history, attention is turning to the looming super El Niño

Sermorelin, tesamorelin and other growth hormone peptides are being touted as antiaging elixirs, but what evidence is behind those claims?

Seasonal changes have more effects on your biology and behavior than you might realize

The Trump administration has so far been silent on flu, COVID and RSV vaccine guidance for the coming season, even as these diseases kill thousands of people every year

The Nancy Grace Roman Telescope is headed toward a Lagrange point, a critical position in outer space where gravitational forces behave in specific ways

Experts explain why a monsoon storm turned so deadly

A recent CDC analysis says that, between 2016 and 2024, the rate of high blood pressure among pregnant women rose by 73 percent

In its hunt for dark matter, the XENONnT experiment has detected the rare, feeble glow of neutrinos smacking into electrons

When fully grown, the octopuses that survive could eat up to four blue crabs per day in the Mediterranean Sea

A floating island in a Canadian reservoir moved more than 30 kilometers across the water—here’s why

After a flawless launch, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is on a mission to solve some of the universe’s biggest mysteries

A pair of new studies point to the role of early menopause and hormone treatment in cognitive decline, but more research is needed, experts say

Scientists named this oddball creature after the Demogorgon from Stranger Things

Avalanches like the one that devastated parts of Nepal and Tibet are becoming more common thanks to climate change. Here’s where else is at risk

The proposed changes, which would have given control of science funding to appointed bureaucrats, were criticized widely by the scientific community

Play a bonus science crossword that ties into even more stories from the September 2026 issue of Scientific American.

The Nancy Grace Roman Telescope will probe dark matter and dark energy, discover exoplanets and study stars

How many times do you have to fold a piece of paper to make a doughnut? After decades, a mathematician has determined the most efficient technique

School districts are banning AI, states are limiting educational technology in classrooms, and Meta will set new “school mode” restrictions—here’s what to know

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is on a mission to probe dark energy, hunt for distant worlds and transform our view of the universe

Jaw-dropping patient videos and miraculous testimonials ignited a frenzy in China over a technique that aims to improve drainage from the brain in dementia patients. Now it is entering trials worldwide

Two robots beat Usain Bolt’s 100-meter-dash record—but likely couldn’t survive in the real world

NASA’s Roman Space Telescope will open a whole new window on the cosmos. Here are 10 things it’s likely to show us

This near-total eclipse will be visible from the Americas, Africa and Europe—here’s how to see it

The Roman Space Telescope will spend more than a quarter of its time staring at the Milky Way’s bulge, a star-packed central region of our galaxy that may swarm with small, rocky exoplanets

In a near-total lunar eclipse, the moon turned red-orange for viewers in North America, Europe and Africa

The world’s oceans hit 21.10 degrees Celsius last Saturday, breaking a record set in 2024

Even as cases of diseases such as measles rise, childhood vaccinations are declining, thanks to changes in public health policies and antivaccine sentiment, experts say

The disaster has claimed hundreds of lives, and at least 1,400 people are missing

On the 20th anniversary of Pluto’s infamous demotion, Mike “Pluto Killer” Brown explains why any reversal of that decision would be driven more by nostalgia than science

The fast-growing private-school network is handing much of instruction over to artificial intelligence. Researchers say the science is far from settled

Spirals, ellipticals, irregulars, oh my!

Seven Rasmussen, an astrobiologist and author of the new book Cloudy with a Chance of Starships, gives readers a tour of the astonishing science behind modern searches for alien life

Astronomers are lining up to leverage NASA’s soon-to-launch Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which boasts capabilities unlike any previous off-world observatory

In a clinical trial, people with obesity saw clear health benefits on the keto diet that they didn’t see on two other popular eating regimens

Pancreatic cancer is considered one of the hardest to treat and most serious forms of cancer