Scientific American Content: Global

The universe could have 18 possible shapes

Sat, 23 May 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Our universe appears flat—but this observation still leaves plenty of options for its true shape. In fact, our cosmos could resemble a donut

SpaceX launches Starship V3—the world's most powerful and tallest rocket ever

Fri, 22 May 2026 22:30:00 +0000

Friday's test flight marks a major milestone for SpaceX as the company gears up to go public and to participate in NASA's Artemis III mission in 2027

Far side moon photos reveal hidden lunar minerals in brilliant color

Fri, 22 May 2026 17:00:00 +0000

An astrophotographer teamed up with Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman to create these stunning new images of the lunar surface

Why lawyers keep citing fake cases invented by AI

Fri, 22 May 2026 17:00:00 +0000

The trend of attorneys getting caught citing AI-hallucinated cases points to a broader problem: instead of checking AI’s work, people keep trusting it

Earth’s molten outer core is behaving in chaotic, unexpected ways

Fri, 22 May 2026 15:35:00 +0000

Scientists are working to solve a mystery of Earth’s molten outer core, which lies more than 2,000 kilometers beneath our feet

Rare Ebola-causing Bundibugyo virus is uniquely challenging to treat. Here’s why

Fri, 22 May 2026 15:00:00 +0000

Bundibugyo virus is an uncommon species of Ebola-causing virus that has been linked to only two other known outbreaks

Span wants to turn homes into mini data centers

Fri, 22 May 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Smart-panel start-up Span wants to turn spare household electricity into AI computing power. How far it can scale and what effect that would have on the residential grid remain unsettled

What will happen if the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies collide?

Fri, 22 May 2026 10:45:00 +0000

Our galaxy and its nearest large companion, Andromeda, may be headed for a collision on a cosmic scale. What happens then?

What is E15 fuel? Why higher-ethanol gasoline could raise summer smog levels

Fri, 22 May 2026 10:30:00 +0000

In an effort to reduce prices at the pump, an EPA wavier allows the sale of fuel with 15 percent ethanol content

Bixonimania’—the fake illness that AI fell for

Fri, 22 May 2026 10:00:00 +0000

How an experiment involving a made-up skin condition exposes the risks of increasingly popular AI medical advice

SpaceX scrubs launch of Starship V3—the tallest and most powerful rocket ever built

Thu, 21 May 2026 23:35:00 +0000

This launch, when it comes, will mark the 12th flight test of Starship and the first demonstration of its V3 design. A new attempt could come as soon as Friday

Hidden structural features inside Egypt’s Great Pyramid may have helped it withstand earthquakes, new study finds

Thu, 21 May 2026 19:30:00 +0000

Constructed by ancient Egyptians, the Great Pyramid has survived multiple earthquakes through the ages—now researchers think they know why

Hantavirus found in shocking number of Pacific Northwest rodents

Thu, 21 May 2026 19:15:00 +0000

These critters were carrying the Sin Nombre variant of hantavirus, which can be spread from rodents to humans but not from one person to another

JWST sees partly cloudy skies on a distant, giant exoplanet

Thu, 21 May 2026 18:05:00 +0000

An out-of-this-world weather report from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope reveals how clouds move across a giant planet hundreds of light-years from Earth

A new study says you need 10 hours of exercise a week. Can that really be possible?

Thu, 21 May 2026 18:00:00 +0000

Experts question this study’s design and its recommendations—and point out that you probably get more exercise than you think

Scientists discover why gold doesn’t ‘rust’

Thu, 21 May 2026 18:00:00 +0000

Gold doesn’t tarnish like similar metals do. A new paper says that the key is the intricate “herringbone” pattern of its atoms.

NOAA predicts quieter Atlantic hurricane season for 2026—but the Pacific is another story

Thu, 21 May 2026 17:29:00 +0000

This year’s expected El Niño could hamper hurricanes in the Atlantic but boost them in the central and eastern Pacific

Trial of next-gen weight-loss drug retatrutide brings it one step closer to FDA approval

Thu, 21 May 2026 15:30:00 +0000

While drugs such as Wegovy target a single gut hormone, retatrutide is among a new class of GLP-1 drugs that aims at three hormone receptors

AI just solved an 80-year-old ‘Erdős problem,’ and mathematicians are amazed

Thu, 21 May 2026 14:47:00 +0000

A chatbot’s result for the 80-year-old “unit distance” conjecture is the first AI proof that would likely be published in math’s top journal if humans had done it alone

Can math predict the end of humanity? Inside the ‘doomsday argument’

Thu, 21 May 2026 14:30:00 +0000

This eerily simple math says our days are numbered—and nobody can agree why it’s wrong

Watch SpaceX launch Starship V3—the tallest and most powerful rocket yet

Thu, 21 May 2026 14:00:00 +0000

Friday’s flight could be the most pivotal test of the Starship megarocket

Daddy longlegs are actually bloodthirsty killers—of frogs

Thu, 21 May 2026 10:30:00 +0000

The wobbly, lanky arachnids known as harvestmen or daddy longlegs may be overlooked as predators of small vertebrates such as frogs, researchers say

Start-up reveals ‘artificial egg’ to resurrect extinct birds, but scientists say the work misses the point

Wed, 20 May 2026 23:45:00 +0000

The science of de-extinction does not exist, but Colossal Biosciences’ “artificial egg” is an interesting technical feat

Screen time limits can protect children’s health, U.S. surgeon general advisory says

Wed, 20 May 2026 22:20:00 +0000

The Trump administration warned that too much screen time for children has been linked to poor sleep, bad behavior, and less physical and social activity

An Ebola outbreak is spreading fast. Should you be worried?

Wed, 20 May 2026 21:16:00 +0000

A deadly Ebola outbreak in parts of Africa is raising international alarm. Still, experts stress that the chance of a pandemic is low

These bizarre fossils represent some of the earliest moving, sexually reproducing life ever discovered

Wed, 20 May 2026 18:00:00 +0000

New trove of fossils reveals that ancestral animals likely emerged in the deep sea

Vaccines for Bundibugyo Ebola virus outbreak are being developed, but none are ready yet

Wed, 20 May 2026 16:30:00 +0000

A decade after Ebola vaccines changed outbreak response, a new epidemic in central Africa is caused by a strain the world never fully prepared for

NASA’s Psyche captures gorgeous Mars crescent photo on way to asteroid

Wed, 20 May 2026 14:45:00 +0000

NASA’s Psyche snapped images as it flew by Mars last week. The spacecraft used the planet’s gravity to give itself a boost on its journey toward its target asteroid

The Colorado Avalanche is dominating the NHL—Denver’s high elevation could be the reason

Wed, 20 May 2026 13:00:00 +0000

Denver’s hockey team is studded with stars, but training and playing the game some 5,000 feet above sea level may give their athletic performance a boost over that of their rivals

NASA’s plan for a nuclear reactor on the moon could change space exploration forever—if it works

Wed, 20 May 2026 10:00:00 +0000

Nuclear power could enable long-term lunar missions, but NASA’s timeline may be too ambitious

Did the last common ancestor of humans and apes walk like a gorilla? A new study offers a clue

Wed, 20 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Some extinct human ancestors and modern-day apes appear to share wrist traits that raise the question of whether our last common ancestor walked on its knuckles

Extreme heat is breaking records in the East. Here’s why

Tue, 19 May 2026 22:42:00 +0000

A Bermuda high parked over the western Atlantic is pulling sweltering air up from the south, challenging records in parts of the eastern U.S.

The U.S. just experienced its hottest 12 months on record

Tue, 19 May 2026 20:00:00 +0000

March was a scorching 9.35 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than the 20th-century average for the month, capping the hottest 12-month stretch for the U.S. since records began in 1895

SpaceX punts Starship V3 launch to May 21 as investigation opens into Starbase worker’s death

Tue, 19 May 2026 19:00:00 +0000

SpaceX is now targeting the evening of May 21 to launch the latest and largest version of its Starship megarocket for the first time

What it’s like being stuck in a hantavirus quarantine for six weeks

Tue, 19 May 2026 18:45:00 +0000

Scientific American spoke to one of the people who are currently being monitored for possible hantavirus infection at the National Quarantine Unit in Nebraska

‘Sensational’ proof topples decades-old geometry problem

Tue, 19 May 2026 16:15:00 +0000

The sudden resolution of a well-known conjecture highlights the growing adoption of AI as an assistant in high-level mathematics

New NASA Hubble image captures a rare, turbulent galaxy

Tue, 19 May 2026 14:45:00 +0000

The new image shows the galaxy NGC 1266, a transitional object with a clutch of young stars that likely collided with a smaller galaxy 500 million years ago

Scientists race to develop Ebola drugs as outbreak surges

Tue, 19 May 2026 14:00:00 +0000

Clinical trials for treatments against Ebola Bundibugyo virus are ‘in a strong position’ to be launched quickly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda

Math puzzle: Fix the matchstick equation

Tue, 19 May 2026 11:00:00 +0000

Fix the matchstick equation in this math puzzle

Female beast hunters battled leopards in ancient Rome

Tue, 19 May 2026 10:30:00 +0000

Mosaic depictions of a weapon-wielding female gladiator are the first physical evidence showing women in ancient Rome could be skilled beast hunters

NASA dreams of a nuclear power plant on the moon. Here’s why