Scientific American

The Arctic is heating faster than the rest of the planet. New data illustrate how dire that is

These proposed changes have seen significant bipartisan pushback and have been criticized by scientists across disciplines

While “protein maxxing” is all the rage, reducing your protein intake could add years to your life

An outbreak of Cyclospora infections tied to produce spreads across multiple states as new research challenges the protein maxxing craze

Some female daddy longlegs will perform fellatio, perhaps to avoid potential violence from males, while males of another species entice females with a secretion on their penises

Mountain lions (also known as cougars or pumas) make roads safer by scaring deer and elk that can cause collisions with cars into more remote areas

Dry conditions and climate change are putting forests across the country at risk for disaster

Charles Darwin predicted in 1875 that some members of the Saxifraga genus could be carnivorous—now scientists have finally proven him right

A solution to part of the Cohen-Lenstra conjecture helps resolve a long-standing mystery about quadratic forms

These deaths were reported by Michigan, which has seen more than 11,000 cases of cyclosporiasis emerge since late June

Scientists analyzing modern genomes may have found a long-lost branch of the human family tree

An active ingredient in magic mushrooms, psilocybin has shown early promise for treating eating disorders

A unique landform is vital for calibrating NASA’s satellites, but it’s likely sitting atop a vast deposit of this heavy metal, which is crucial for making munitions

Astronomers’ simulations predict what this lunar impact—and its aftermath—will look like

The Swedish engineer influencer has spent over a decade on YouTube growing a loyal audience of over 2.5 million followers, but for her, the journey was all about living a less typical life in science.

The bright, red-orange stain on Antarctica’s ice-covered landscape may trace back to ancient oceans

Physicists, mathematicians and philosophers have been exploring the possibility of going forward to the future or back to the past

Wormholes are one way that physicists have imagined traveling into the past. But if something gets there, is it physically possible to change anything?

Discovered by an amateur mathematician in 2022, this strange construct can tile an infinite surface without repeating. But can it be useful in the real world?

Many of these structures date to around C.E. 100–300, during the time of the Aquiry civilization, and may have been used for ceremonial purposes

This billionaire-backed fund is dedicating $200 million to preserve animals and even plants that are facing extinction around the world

The extreme conditions of atomic bomb explosions create “uncontrolled microexperiments” that, in Hiroshima, forged a never-before-seen metallic alloy

Space agencies around the globe are coordinating missions to visit the asteroid Apophis during a close encounter with Earth in 2029

The U.S. has been pummeled with heat waves this summer. Here’s how hot overnight temperatures can get in the way of a good night’s rest—in three charts

New work explains how avocado trees coordinate a complex reproductive strategy, switching every day between male and female

The 2026 Fields Medals recognize breakthroughs in the math of messy fluids, tangled knots, spinning pencils, and more

During a lost ‘golden age’ of language, humans may have spoken tens of thousands of different tongues, a new study suggests

In searches for past and present Martian life, some scientists say we’ve been too cautious to see what’s right in front of us

This incident underscores concerns over the increasingly powerful cybersecurity capabilities of new AI models

This agent pursued its objective far beyond what researchers intended, revealing how difficult to contain powerful AI systems can be

An M.I.T. Ph.D. student and two University of California system cryptographers used GPT-5.6 Sol Ultra in different ways, raising new questions about independent discovery and scientific credit

The Psyche spacecraft flew by Mars earlier this year on its way to a metal-rich asteroid, capturing the images along the way

In an episode of the cartoon, a machine lets characters swap bodies, but they can’t switch back with the same person. Math helps all the characters return to their original bodies

A high-profile court case is calling attention to this rare and understudied condition

The Arctic Ocean is one of the most extreme environments on Earth, but that’s not stopping this cephalopod

A hormone produced by the thymus helps tamp down age-related inflammation, a new study in mice found

Lakes of liquid methane on Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, could offer exhilarating—and terrifying—opportunities for otherworldly surfing

Joan Birman popularized the Burau representation problem decades ago. Now she and two colleagues have a proof that reveals brand new insights into the geometry of braids