Science

Announcing a New Plan for Solving the Mystery of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena

In the courtroom,  eyewitness testimony can lead to a life sentence in jail. But in science, such testimony is of…

Read More »

Immune Cells Suggest New Alzheimer’s Treatment Possibilities

In 1907 German psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer published a case report of an unusual illness affecting the cerebral cortex. A 51-year-old…

Read More »

Fauci on COVID Drugs, Vaccines and Getting Back to Normal

COVID cases are surging again in much of the U.S. as the Delta variant takes hold among unvaccinated populations. Antiviral…

Read More »

Why an Asteroid Strike Is Like a Pandemic

Imagine the following scenario. Scientists identify a potential global threat, but initial data are spotty—not enough to spur drastic action.…

Read More »

Quantum Mechanics, Plato’s Cave and the Blind Piranha

My quantum experiment, which has consumed me for more than a year now, has dredged up a creepy, long-buried memory.…

Read More »

‘Advanced’ Nuclear Reactors? Don’t Hold Your Breath

The U.S. nuclear power industry is at an impasse. Since 2003, 11 of the 104 light-water reactors in operation at…

Read More »

Soft Robot Hand Is First to Be Fully 3-D-Printed in a Single Step

A soft robotic hand has finally achieved a historic accomplishment: beating the first level of Super Mario Bros. Although quickly…

Read More »

What to Expect from the Next Major Global Climate Report

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change grabbed the world’s attention in 2018 when it released a sobering report that warned—in…

Read More »

InSight Lander Makes Best-Yet Maps of Martian Depths

What lurks within the Red Planet? Although only a tenth as massive as Earth, Mars looks to have once been…

Read More »

The Kavli Prize Presents: Understanding Touch [Sponsored]

This podcast was produced for the Kavli Prize by Scientific American Custom Media, a division separate from the magazine’s board…

Read More »