Scientific American Content: Global

‘Extreme’ wildfire sweeps Nevada as U.S. tallies almost 51,000 wildfires so far this year

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 19:15:00 +0000

A wildfire outside Reno began on August 22 and has already burned more than 15,000 acres of land

Earth’s oceans just hit their hottest temperature ever recorded

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 16:07:00 +0000

The world’s oceans hit 21.10 degrees Celsius last Saturday, breaking a record set in 2024

China delays ambitious Chang’e 7 moon mission until 2027

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 14:00:00 +0000

The search for frozen water is crucial to both China’s and NASA’s plans to establish permanent moon bases

Sorry, Pluto’s still not a planet

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 11:00:00 +0000

On the 20th anniversary of Pluto’s infamous demotion, Mike “Pluto Killer” Brown explains why any reversal of that decision would be driven more by nostalgia than science

Climate change opens Arctic shipping routes as roadless forest protections face rollback

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 10:00:00 +0000

Forests, extreme weather and the realities of a warming world

See states’ kindergarten vaccination rates—from highest to lowest

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 10:00:00 +0000

Even as cases of diseases such as measles rise, childhood vaccinations are declining, thanks to changes in public health policies and antivaccine sentiment, experts say

How “thunderquakes” could help reveal hidden structures inside the Earth

Sun, 23 Aug 2026 11:00:00 +0000

When that energy reaches the ground, some of it is converted into seismic waves that ripple through the soil and rock beneath—“thunderquakes”

60 years ago NASA took the first ever photo of Earth from the moon—and began a legacy

Sun, 23 Aug 2026 10:30:00 +0000

Snapped on August 23, 1966, by the uncrewed Lunar Orbiter 1, the photo’s legacy lives on in the breathtaking images of Earth taken by the Artemis II crew

Why trauma changes how our memory engages with our conscious experience

Sat, 22 Aug 2026 10:00:00 +0000

Trauma can distort how memories are stored and retrieved in the brain

Is lettuce safe to eat yet? New data suggest cyclosporiasis cases are slowing

Fri, 21 Aug 2026 18:00:00 +0000

After a spike in infections in July, this explosive-diarrhea-causing outbreak may be coming to an end

Why tornadoes touched down near New York City

Fri, 21 Aug 2026 17:15:00 +0000

Twisters don’t touch down in New York City often, but they can when the conditions are just right

Why this El Niño will be the largest in living memory

Fri, 21 Aug 2026 15:21:00 +0000

A strengthening El Niño may surpass any seen since the 19th century and will usher in another record hot year or two

What you need to know about West Nile virus

Fri, 21 Aug 2026 14:00:00 +0000

The mosquito-borne illness has sickened hundreds of people this year

‘Earth-like’ exoplanets may exist—but we don’t know of any yet

Fri, 21 Aug 2026 10:45:00 +0000

Claiming an exoplanet to be “Earth-like” is a trend that needs to bite the dust

What happened when people with anorexia tried magic mushrooms

Fri, 21 Aug 2026 10:00:00 +0000

Researchers are exploring whether magic mushrooms could offer a new treatment for anorexia

The national debt is $40 trillion. What does that mean mathematically?

Fri, 21 Aug 2026 10:00:00 +0000

An investigation into the incomprehensibly, unfathomably large amount of money the U.S. owes

China’s solar power rollout is harming birds, a new analysis finds

Thu, 20 Aug 2026 18:00:00 +0000

A new study finds that China’s solar energy boom is hurting bird diversity

Physicists pinpoint the perfect crystal site for an ultra-accurate nuclear clock

Thu, 20 Aug 2026 18:00:00 +0000

Growing crystals “like alchemy,” researchers plotted out the ideal site within the lattice to build a nuclear clock

Europe’s summer of wildfires is just a taste of what’s to come

Thu, 20 Aug 2026 16:23:00 +0000

The area of Europe affected by wildfires is due to triple, a new study finds

Orbital data centers could transform our night sky forever

Thu, 20 Aug 2026 16:00:00 +0000

Without drastic interventions, data centers in space could disrupt scientific observations and fragile ecosystems by adding almost innumerable new “stars” to the heavens above

Life’s ‘last universal common ancestor’ may predate life itself

Thu, 20 Aug 2026 14:00:00 +0000

A groundbreaking study hints at a hazy boundary between “life” and “non-life,” as well as two distinct origins of biology on Earth

China’s Chang’e 7 moonshot will seek water ice at the lunar south pole

Thu, 20 Aug 2026 12:30:00 +0000

The country’s latest mission, Chang’e 7, will be the first ever to land directly at the moon’s south pole. Whatever it finds there could radically reshape a new space race

Should you be taking testosterone?

Thu, 20 Aug 2026 11:00:00 +0000

Testosterone is a longtime favorite of the bodybuilding crowd, but now the hormone is being touted for perimenopause, “looks maxxing,” and more

NASA calls off rescue mission for its falling Swift space telescope

Wed, 19 Aug 2026 22:00:00 +0000

The space agency’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, which studied cataclysmic cosmic explosions, is expected to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere later this year

Moderna and Merck announce ‘landmark’ trial showing mRNA therapy significantly cuts odds of recurrent skin cancer

Wed, 19 Aug 2026 20:45:00 +0000

The combined drug works by nudging the body’s own immune system to make proteins that attack and destroy melanoma cells

Some microbes could survive on the moon—that’s a big problem for NASA

Wed, 19 Aug 2026 18:00:00 +0000

Five common microorganisms found on Earth could survive at the lunar south pole, a new study finds, presenting a contamination risk for future human missions

The Milky Way’s fastest star could expose our black hole’s spin

Wed, 19 Aug 2026 16:40:00 +0000

The star S301 swoops so close to our galaxy’s supermassive black hole that it could, for the first time ever, reveal that dark behemoth’s rotation

China successfully lands its Zhuque-3 rocket, rivaling Blue Origin and SpaceX

Wed, 19 Aug 2026 16:00:00 +0000

Beijing’s success shows how close China is to the U.S. in the new space race

‘Mini brains’ kept alive for years appear to age like real brains

Wed, 19 Aug 2026 15:00:00 +0000

Miniature models of the human brain can be kept alive for years, allowing scientists to study neural development and brain diseases

Trump to nominate White House aide Heidi Overton to head FDA

Wed, 19 Aug 2026 15:00:00 +0000

Overton is a medical doctor with ties to the “Make America Healthy Again” movement

How psilocybin alters consciousness to create a sense of ‘oneness’

Wed, 19 Aug 2026 15:00:00 +0000

Psychedelics can create a new “hidden order” in brain activity that could explain how these drugs alter our sense of self

Supercentenarians have a cellular superpower

Wed, 19 Aug 2026 15:00:00 +0000

Could this secret cellular weapon be the key to longevity?

NASA images reveal 60-foot-wide crater on moon left by SpaceX rocket

Wed, 19 Aug 2026 13:30:00 +0000

The SpaceX rocket fragment hit the moon at several times the speed of sound on August 5

How generative AI is reshaping creativity, and what it means for artists

Wed, 19 Aug 2026 10:00:00 +0000

Moiya McTier explores what makes human creativity unique in the age of AI

Trump moves to end protections for 44 million acres of U.S. forests

Tue, 18 Aug 2026 18:59:00 +0000

The 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule protects the nation’s forests from logging and other industry activities

Why parabolas are crucial to cryptography

Tue, 18 Aug 2026 18:00:00 +0000

Cryptographers use points along a curve to build tough codes

What makes a narwhal’s tusk so special? Scientists are close to unraveling the mystery

Tue, 18 Aug 2026 15:00:00 +0000

The unicorn of the sea’s spiral tooth has long been a scientific enigma

Extreme weather is making Americans feel powerless

Tue, 18 Aug 2026 14:15:00 +0000

The same people affected by extreme weather are also likely to worry that they will face a future disaster, according to a new poll

Robotic rescue missions are sparking a spaceflight revolution

Tue, 18 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Two new missions are revealing how robotic repair and assembly could become routine on the final frontier

Math Puzzle: A Tetris paradox

Tue, 18 Aug 2026 11:00:00 +0000

Explore the Tetris paradox in this math puzzle

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