Scientific American Content: Global

NASA just dropped more than 12,000 Artemis II photos—here’s how to see them

Mon, 04 May 2026 20:05:00 +0000

Want to go to the moon? Travel vicariously through the more than 12,000 photos NASA just posted from the Artemis II mission

How a Greenland shark’s heart can beat for centuries

Mon, 04 May 2026 19:00:00 +0000

Greenland sharks have hearts that can function normally for more than a century

Supreme Court reinstates access to abortion drug mifepristone by mail

Mon, 04 May 2026 17:45:00 +0000

On Monday the Supreme Court paused a ruling by a federal appeals court that prevented health care providers from prescribing mifepristone by telemedicine, setting the stage for further action from the nation’s highest court

School cell phone bans may boost student well-being—but not test scores, new study suggests

Mon, 04 May 2026 17:00:00 +0000

Banning cell phones in schools has been touted as a silver bullet for poor test scores and low student well-being and attendance, but new research suggests the results are more mixed

Airborne microplastics could be making climate change worse

Mon, 04 May 2026 16:25:00 +0000

Tiny plastic particles drifting in Earth’s atmosphere could have a significant warming effect, a new study finds

Why NASA’s Artemis moon program could fall victim to SpaceX’s AI ambitions

Mon, 04 May 2026 15:30:00 +0000

Massive investments in AI may bring synergy and revenue to SpaceX, or could create problems for it and NASA, especially if the AI bubble pops

What you need to know about hantavirus, the infection at the center of a deadly cruise ship outbreak

Mon, 04 May 2026 15:15:00 +0000

Hantavirus spreads through contact with rodents and causes rare infectious diseases that can lead to kidney failure or a buildup of fluid in the lungs

What we know—and what we don’t—about marijuana’s health effects

Mon, 04 May 2026 12:45:00 +0000

Marijuana is far from a “silver bullet” for various illnesses, but it has some promising applications, scientists say

How a vision-restoring gene therapy proved that we can treat inherited diseases

Mon, 04 May 2026 11:00:00 +0000

Three 2026 Breakthrough Prize winners reflect on developing Luxturna, a gene therapy that treats blindness caused by rare inherited eye diseases

Metallic scorpion stingers, preeclampsia hope, canceled wind energy projects

Mon, 04 May 2026 10:00:00 +0000

A look at what makes scorpions so deadly, why there’s hope for preeclampsia and how President Trump is gutting wind energy

The Eta Aquarid meteor shower peaks this week—here’s how to get the best view

Sun, 03 May 2026 13:00:00 +0000

This annual meteor shower occurs as Earth passes through the dusty debris left behind by Halley’s Comet as it journeys around the sun

Key U.S. science panels are being axed—and others are becoming less open

Sun, 03 May 2026 12:00:00 +0000

A new analysis shows that the Trump administration has terminated more than 100 advisory committees to science agencies—and reduced the transparency and independence of those that remain.

Why the FDA rejected a ‘breakthrough’ melanoma drug

Sat, 02 May 2026 15:20:00 +0000

The FDA rejected the promising skin cancer drug RP1 twice, leaving many puzzled and worried about what this means for other drug approvals

Do octopus brains work like humans’—or is there another way to be smart?

Sat, 02 May 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Just like vertebrates, cephalopods—such as octopuses and squid—have elaborate brains. Neuroscientists are flocking to them for insights into how intelligence evolved.

A SpaceX rocket booster may be on track to hit the moon in August

Fri, 01 May 2026 20:00:00 +0000

While there is no immediate danger, this crash highlights that space junk is increasingly expanding out of lower-Earth orbit

Watch NASA test its new X-59 jet designed to go faster than the speed of sound

Fri, 01 May 2026 19:48:00 +0000

This next-generation plane is made to go faster than sound without producing a full sonic boom

A third of U.S. adults don’t get enough sleep, new CDC report warns

Fri, 01 May 2026 16:16:00 +0000

Nearly a third of all U.S. adults are sleeping fewer than the recommended seven hours per night on average

US lawmakers vote to cut science spending—but reject Trump’s sweeping reductions

Fri, 01 May 2026 15:45:00 +0000

A draft bill would preserve NASA’s overall funding but downsize the National Science Foundation’s budget by 20 percent.

The spring migration of birds is peaking. Here’s how to watch

Fri, 01 May 2026 14:00:00 +0000

The migration of birds from their southern wintering grounds to their breeding grounds in the north is in full swing

What is the Kardashev scale, and can we climb it?

Fri, 01 May 2026 10:45:00 +0000

The Kardashev scale is an interesting but flawed gauge of a civilization’s growth

What is the AI compute crunch, and why are AI tools hitting usage limits?

Fri, 01 May 2026 10:30:00 +0000

Rate limits on Claude and other tools could hint at a deeper squeeze on the chips, power and data centers needed to run advanced AI. Researcher Lennart Heim explains

Trump, ibogaine and the science behind the psychedelics boom in the U.S.

Fri, 01 May 2026 10:00:00 +0000

Tracing how psychedelics have undergone a revival in the U.S. and what the White House’s new psychedelic push means for research

‘Spectacular’ Viking coin hoard discovery is likely the largest in history

Fri, 01 May 2026 10:00:00 +0000

Archaeologists have uncovered around 3,000 silver coins so far—and more could come to light

At shadow climate summit on phasing out fossil fuels, scientists are center stage

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 20:40:00 +0000

Representatives of more than 50 nations gathered in Santa Marta, Colombia, this week at what was billed as the first global summit on phasing out fossil fuels. A panel of scientists will be advising them

Scientists just discovered what is fueling cows’ potent burps

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 18:31:00 +0000

The “hydrogenobody,” a newly discovered structure inside microbial cells in cows’ gut, may play a key role in methane production, a new study suggests

Trump withdraws wellness influencer and MAHA activist Casey Means as surgeon general nominee

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 18:10:00 +0000

On Thursday the president announced he is nominating Nicole Saphier, a radiologist and Fox News contributor, as the nation’s top doctor

Scientists use AI to test whether life can run on only 19 amino acids

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 18:00:00 +0000

An engineered E. coli strain survived after one amino acid was designed out of many of its ribosomal proteins—an early test of whether life’s chemistry can be simplified

The effort to rescue ‘Timmy’ the humpback whale just took a risky turn

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:30:00 +0000

Rescuers had called off the effort to save “Timmy,” a humpback whale that had stranded in the Baltic Sea last month. But now a last-ditch attempt to move the creature by barge is underway

JWST discovers ‘red monster’ galaxy that challenges astronomers’ understanding of the early universe

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 14:00:00 +0000

Researchers are perplexed by a galaxy that seems too large and too dusty for its place in cosmic history, less than a half-billion years after the big bang

Pioneering geneticist and decoder of the human genome J. Craig Venter dies at age 79

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 11:20:00 +0000

Scientist and medical technology entrepreneur J. Craig Venter published the first bacterial genome ever decoded in 1995. The result heralded a new age of discovery for genetics

Should schools limit kids’ screen time? The science is murky

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 11:00:00 +0000

Los Angeles public schools are limiting computer use in classrooms over health concerns. But experts say that approach is missing the problem

What’s faster than light? Darkness

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 09:00:00 +0000

A recent experiment revealed that individual dark points on a light wave can move faster than the wave itself

Measles outbreaks can end, but the danger of the disease doesn’t

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 19:32:00 +0000

The recent measles outbreak in South Carolina sickened nearly 1,000 people before public health officials got it under control. Vaccination can effectively prevent further spread

A giant hailstorm just killed an emu at a Missouri zoo

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 19:15:00 +0000

A hailstorm of these proportions is “unusual” but not unheard of in Missouri at this time of year, one expert says

What happened after the fall of Rome? Ancient genomes offer new clues

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 16:15:00 +0000

A genomic analysis of people buried on the border of the ancient Roman Empire show how distinct groups combined after the empire’s fall

DOJ indicts former Fauci adviser David Morens on charges related to COVID pandemic

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 15:30:00 +0000

Former National Institutes of Health official David Morens is accused of evading record requests related to the COVID pandemic’s origins and gain-of-function research

What you eat for lunch could influence your immune system just hours later

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 15:01:00 +0000

Our food choices could play an important, short-term role in how our bodies respond to infections, new research suggests

Chanda Prescod-Weinstein connects physics, poetry and pop culture

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 10:00:00 +0000

A physicist explores how poetry, pop culture and imagination help us understand spacetime and our place in the universe

NASA chief Jared Isaacman hints at campaign to make Pluto a planet again

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 20:00:00 +0000

The NASA administrator’s latest remarks in support of reexamining Pluto’s status come 20 years after the orb was downgraded to a dwarf planet by the International Astronomical Union

City birds appear more afraid of women than men, and scientists have no idea why

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 20:00:00 +0000

“I fully believe our results, that urban birds react differently based on the sex of the person approaching them,” said a co-author of a study that made this finding, “but I can’t explain them right now”

Humanity may be doomed to die in nuclear war—unless we act soon, physicist David Gross says

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 19:00:00 +0000

After winning a Breakthrough Prize, the world’s most lucrative science award, theoretical physicist David Gross is using the moment to warn of nuclear war’s existential threat—and how we can escape it

The Simpsons reference that refutes one of history’s greatest mathematicians

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 18:00:00 +0000

In one famous episode of The Simpsons, Homer finds a counterexample to Fermat’s last theorem

Fusion energy company Commonwealth applies to join a U.S. power grid—a first

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 16:30:00 +0000

The fusion energy start-up Commonwealth Fusion Systems aims to bring its first power plant online by the early 2030s, but daunting technical hurdles remain

Watch Astrobotic’s latest record-breaking ‘ring of fire’ rocket engine test

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 14:30:00 +0000

Rotating detonation rocket engines work differently than traditional rockets to maximize thrust while using less fuel—an advantage that could help spacecraft explore farther in the solar system

Polycystic ovary syndrome might affect men, too. Here’s how

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 11:00:00 +0000

A condition that affects 10 to 15 percent of women may affect men, too. But many doctors don’t know about it

War in Iran spotlights the risk to drinking water for millions in the Persian Gulf

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Direct attacks, oil spills and the threat of nuclear waste are putting the Gulf region’s desalination plants at risk—here’s why that matters

The science behind the Adidas shoes that helped two marathoners break the two-hour mark

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 20:45:00 +0000

A sub-two-hour marathon has long been seen as a tantalizing benchmark for elite runners—and shoemakers have been in a race to design footwear that can help them get there

Iconic Sombrero Galaxy captured in incredible detail, revealing its enormous glowing halo

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 17:30:00 +0000

This galaxy, also known as Messier 104, gets its nickname from its central bulge and outer dust trail, which give it a sombrerolike appearance from our vantage point

People trust vaccine scientists as much as other researchers, poll shows

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 16:30:00 +0000

Roughly seven in 10 people still trust vaccine researchers, a new poll finds. The number is in line with trust for other scientists

Blood filtering could help treat preeclampsia, pilot study suggests

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 16:12:00 +0000

Preeclampsia can be deadly in pregnancy, and aside from delivering the baby, the condition has no targeted treatment. A new study suggests blood filtering with antibodies could help