Scientific American

Scientific American covers the advances in research and discovery that are changing our understanding of the world and shaping our lives.

Scientific American

Oct 14, 2021 - 25 min

Wildfire is transforming Alaska and amplifying climate change

How the dangers of high-latitude fire are being ignored.

Scientific American

Oct 4, 2021 - 7 min

How to search for life as we don't know it

Are we limited by our own minds?

Scientific American

Sep 27, 2021 - 6 min

Sometimes mindlessness is better than mindfulness

In some situations, don’t pay so much attention.

Scientific American

Sep 22, 2021 - 28 min

GDP is the wrong tool for measuring what matters

Joseph Stiglitz explains why the model doesn't work.

Scientific American

Sep 6, 2021 - 25 min

Unlimited information Is transforming society

A historical overview of human progress.

Scientific American

Aug 10, 2021 - 18 min

Play is serious business for elephants

Fun and games are vital for young wildlife.

Scientific American

Jul 27, 2021 - 15 min

The forgotten history of the world’s first trans clinic

How history reveals the diversity of gender and sexuality.  

Scientific American

Jul 19, 2021 - 15 min

How diversity makes us smarter

It can be difficult, but it can also be profound.

Scientific American

Jul 12, 2021 - 15 min

How COVID is changing the study of human behavior

Has the pandemic strengthened social science?

Scientific American

Jun 27, 2021 - 9 min

The delusion of infinite economic growth

Can we ever build truly sustainable tech?

Scientific American

Jun 3, 2021 - 22 min

No one can explain why planes stay in the air

Do we finally know how planes fly?

Scientific American

May 31, 2021 - 22 min

Enhance your resilience

How to learn and grow from adversity.

Scientific American

May 18, 2021 - 17 min

Humans are pretty lousy lie detectors

Can you tell when someone is lying to you?

Scientific American

May 11, 2021 - 9 min

How the brain responds to beauty

Are we closer to understanding the complex feeling?

Scientific American

Apr 2, 2021 - 16 min

Can natural gas be part of a low-carbon future?

Gas could become a much cleaner energy source.

Scientific American

Mar 25, 2021 - 28 min

The mathematics of how connections become global

The importance of spotting the links in life.

Scientific American

Mar 12, 2021 - 13 min

An underappreciated danger of the new space age: global air pollution

Why are the environmental impacts of private space launches being ignored?

Scientific American

Mar 11, 2021 - 19 min

The science of spiritual narcissism

Your meditation may not be as nourishing for the soul as you first thought.

Scientific American

Mar 2, 2021 - 29 min

From civil rights to Black Lives Matter

An exceptional autobiographical reflection on how social justice movements succeed.

Scientific American

Feb 26, 2021 - 22 min

You can get through this dark pandemic winter using tips from disaster technology

Scientific American

Feb 6, 2021 - 11 min

To counteract propaganda, we should look to lessons from advertising

The goal should not be conversion but doubt.

Scientific American

Jan 21, 2021 - 10 min

The disturbing history of research into transgender identity

Research into the determinants of gender identity may be doing more harm than good.

Scientific American

Jan 17, 2021 - 11 min

Is the Schrödinger equation true?

Just because a mathematical formula works does not mean it reflects reality.

Scientific American

Jan 13, 2021 - 14 min

Conservative and liberal brains might have some real differences

How does the 'red-blue' divide play out in our brains? New research might have the answer.

Scientific American

Jan 9, 2021 - 14 min

The 1918 flu faded in our collective memory: we might ‘forget’ the coronavirus, too

Scientific American

Dec 3, 2020 - 11 min

When a journalist becomes a disinformation agent

Simulation games helped newsrooms prepare for covering a chaotic election season.

Scientific American

Nov 25, 2020 - 7 min

In defense of the psychologically rich life

What does it mean to live a good life? Here is one potential answer.