Scientific American

The upper body of a Golden Retriever dog with a confused look on its face.

AnimalsJune 24, 2026

Extreme heat is muddling animals’ brains—and even triggering aggression

As temperatures rise, some creatures pick fights while others struggle to learn

Marta Zaraska, Knowable Magazine

Rolled butter - stock photo - close up of butter

FoodJune 27, 2026

The subtle chemistry that explains why butter or margarine is best for baking

Rosemary Trout, The Conversation US

Lionel Messi #10 of Argentina celebrates scoring his team's third and hat trick goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group J match between Argentina and Algeria at Kansas City Stadium on June 16, 2026 in Kansas City, Missouri

PsychologyJune 26, 2026

Five psychology tricks soccer stars like Mbappe, Haaland and Messi use to stay sharp at the World Cup

Eric Zillmer, The Conversation US

Photo illustration of a group of weight loss medications on a white background.

WeightJune 25, 2026

Weight loss drugs don't work for everyone—here’s why

Nadine Wehida, Ahmed Elbediwy, The Conversation US

GamesJune 28, 2026

Cover Art Jigsaw: November 1948

Sam Macdonald

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An asteroid in space.

AstronomyJune 28, 2026

How to tell a comet from an asteroid and a meteor from a meteorite

Adam Lark, The Conversation US

A huge asteroid impacting Earth in a fiery explosion

EarthJune 27, 2026

Will humanity be able to protect Earth from a deadly asteroid?

Govert Schilling

Two zebra finches on a branch

AnimalsJune 26, 2026

A scientist deciphered zebra finches’ vocabulary—and used it to talk back to them

Claire Cameron

Blue glowing gravitational waves, computer generated

Black HolesJune 26, 2026

What happens at the edge of a black hole? Astronomers may be close to finding out

Sam Macdonald

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July/August 2026 Issue

Conceptual art illustrating the state of American science. A large hand removes bricks from a Jenga-style tower supporting individuals and a microscope.

Social Sciences

U.S. science is in chaos

Adam Rogers

Collage style illustration by Max-o-matic showing different areas of science, government buildings, data samples and maps.

Science Education

On our radar

Megha Satyanarayana

Close-up portrait photograph of J. Craig Venter, image provided by K.C. Alfred/San Diego Union-Tribune/Getty Images.

Biology

Craig Venter

Jeanna Bryner

Collage style illustration by Max-o-matic showing different areas of science.

Space & Physics

My childhood in science

Alan Lightman

Illustration of an individual in a lab coat with a beaker containing a glowing liquid. The individual is ascending a DNA structure staircase. Using the glowing beaker as a guiding light, past newspaper clippings on a wall.

History of Science

When science is under siege, history offers a playbook

Deborah Blum

Portrait photograph of Atul Gawande provided by Priyanka Parashar/Mint/Getty Images.

Public Health

Atul Gawande

Tara Haelle

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The Young American Scientists

Portrait photograph of Adam Bowman, Chee-Huat Linus Eng, Jenny Bergner, Kaiyi Jiang, Christina V. Theodoris, Lvmin Zhang, Steven Chavez and Dmitrii Kochkov.

How we chose the 2026 Young American Scientists

Ari Sen

Stylized illustration by Olga Aleksandrova depicting scientists looks at world maps, photos of cities and stamps. Aiming to underscore the appeal of jobs outside of the United States.

Society & PolicyJune 16, 2026

Dozens of countries are trying to lure U.S. scientists abroad—and it’s working

Sarah Scoles

Vera C. Rubin Observatory in the foreground, against a rose-gold sky.

The SciencesJune 16, 2026

Inside U.S. labs at a moment of fear—and unexpected promise

Rebecca Boyle

Collage style illustration by Max-o-matic showing different areas of science.

CultureJune 16, 2026

What people get wrong about scientists

Dava Sobel

Explore Collection

Games

A robot hand reaches toward bubbles with letters in them

Spellements

Create as many words as you can!

Illustration of a hand and multiple numbers against a purple background.

Math Puzzles

Stretch your math muscles with these puzzles.

A robot hand unleashes a swirl of puzzle pieces, crosswords, and circles with numbers and letters

All Games

Science inspired games, puzzles and quizzes

Special Edition

An illustration of a galaxy.

Astronomy

The new story of the Milky Way’s surprisingly turbulent past

Ann Finkbeiner

Doark amorphous shape

Dark Matter

Dark matter might lurk in its own shadow world

Kathryn Zurek

Illustration of a woman at a desk and her dog living in a spacecraft.

Space Exploration

Why we'll never live in space

Sarah Scoles

Illustration of a black hole in a geometric-like universe

Black Holes

The puzzle of the first black holes

Priyamvada Natarajan

Illustration of a dragon-like creature coming to life out of a long roll of paper

Astrophysics

What if we never find dark matter?

Tracy R. Slatyer, Tim M. P. Tait

Conceptual image of the timeline of the cosmos

Cosmology

Astronomers’ epic quest to witness the cosmic dawn

Rebecca Boyle

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Podcasts

Illustration of Brazilian soccer player Bruno Guimaraes pouring water on his head during a 2026 World Cup match

Ebola cases surge, the World Cup heats up, and fatherhood changes the brain

Rachel Feltman, Andrea Thompson, Tanya Lewis, Sushmita Pathak, Alex Sugiura

An image of a woman sitting down in a lab.

HealthJune 19, 2026

How viruses may reshape the body’s ‘soil’ to promote cancer growth

Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Alex Sugiura

Conceptual image of a human brain against a dark background

NeuroscienceJune 17, 2026

Learning from unexpected results: This neuroscientist is redefining how the brain learns

Rachel Feltman, Sushmita Pathak, Alex Sugiura

Portrait photograph of Erini Lambrides taken by Jeffery DelViscio

AstrophysicsJune 16, 2026

How Erini Lambrides went from seeking theater stardom to studying the stars at NASA

Rachel Feltman, Sushmita Pathak, Alex Sugiura

The director and cast of the movie Disclosure Day pose in front of a banner with the name of the movie for a promotional event

LanguageJune 12, 2026

Disclosure Day raises a big question: How do you talk to aliens?

Rachel Feltman, Sushmita Pathak, Brianne Kane, Alex Sugiura

Discussions

What role do you think government should play in science?

8View the Discussion

Take me to your reader: Scientific American staff recommend their favorite alien books, but what’s your favorite?

2View the Discussion

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Popular Stories

Circles of light on the night sky. A telescope dome atop a mountain is below the center of the circle.

CosmologyJune 25, 2026

Did two physicists just upend decades of cosmology research?

A new study claims that the universe isn’t entirely the same no matter where you look—a radical proposal

Joseph Howlett

A piece of new blue paint, a part of President Donald Trump’s renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, peels off from the bottom of the pool on June 18, 2026, in Washington, D.C.

Materials ScienceJune 22, 2026

Why is the paint peeling off the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool? An investigation

Poor preparation and a failure to properly apply the coating may be just a few of the reasons why the Reflecting Pool’s new paint job appears to be peeling off

Adam Kovac

Three men contemplate a Go board.

Artificial IntelligenceMarch 13, 2023

AI’s Victories in Go Inspire Better Human Game Playing

Famed AI wins in Go let human players rethink their moves in a whole new way

Emily Willingham

An old print of a photograph of a woman wearing formal clothes

MathJune 23, 2026

How underappreciated mathematician Emmy Noether helped prove physics' most fundamental theories

Noether's work helped prove the conservation of energy in physics, a key foundation for Einstein's theory of relativity

Manon Bischoff

Stylized illustration by Olga Aleksandrova depicting scientists looks at world maps, photos of cities and stamps. Aiming to underscore the appeal of jobs outside of the United States.

Society & PolicyJune 16, 2026

Dozens of countries are trying to lure U.S. scientists abroad—and it’s working

The great American brain drain could define science for a generation

Sarah Scoles

People in bathing suits stand in a large knee-high pool with fountains and the Eiffel Tower in the background.

Climate ChangeJune 25, 2026

France just hit its hottest day ever recorded

Scorching temperatures across France rose to a record-breaking average 30 degrees on Wednesday

Jackie Flynn Mogensen

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