Scientific American

Dogs spontaneously aid struggling humans the way young children do—whereas cats wait until they stand to benefit

Controlling a small group of “noisy” sheep holds hints for computer algorithms

Angine de Poitrine don't abide by the usual rules of Western music, using their own custom-built guitar to strike notes that shouldn't exist

Children living in areas with low socioeconomic opportunities have more tired and stressed brains, a new study finds

A step-by-step guide to the “Doginburgh Inventory,” a new pawedness test developed by dog behavior researchers

Scientists have been expecting El Niño to set in for quite a while now—and it’s finally official

Dermatologists and skincare aficionados are excited for the U.S. to finally get a new, more protective sunscreen filter after more than 20 years of regulatory roadblocks. Here’s how bemotrizinol works

Flex your math muscles with this weekend’s brain teaser. Play now.

The second batch of “First Proof” problems is meant to evaluate AI’s usefulness for research-level math. The best model got six or seven of the 10 questions basically right

Billions of emerging insects will likely trigger predator population surges—but some species mysteriously opt out of such bounties

The new movie Disclosure Day is all about a big, alien secret. But SETI researchers behind the updated postdetection protocol say they aren’t in the business of secrets

The fossilized remains of more than 450 whales have amassed along a 750-mile-long stretch of the Indian Ocean floor

The magnitude 7.8 earthquake that hit the Philippines happened at a subduction zone. Such places are capable of producing the largest earthquakes possible

Reusable rockets and Starlink made Elon Musk’s company dominant in spaceflight. Its record valuation leans on making Starship flights routine and orbital AI data centers real

The ability to run “mental marathons” is a skill children can learn through simple, but dedicated, practice

Weight lifting and other forms of resistance training can increase bone density, lower diabetes risk and boost mental health

Meteor camera networks can reveal the hidden history of the solar system, and you can assist from your own backyard

Cold fronts colliding with warm, humid air from the Gulf of Mexico could cause dangerous weather conditions, forecasters say

Famed AI wins in Go let human players rethink their moves in a whole new way

Extremely curved spacetime can warp cause and effect, creating channels for backward communication

New results challenge AI’s promise for solving how fluids swirl—and suggest a more human path forward

Researchers have created the first high-resolution global map of the extent of one of Earth’s largest—and least visible—living networks

A linguist lays out what communicating with aliens could actually involve—and what that tells us about human language

Salt, with its ability to seal liquid in, is uniquely suited to storing the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve

In a first, the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists released its own vaccine schedule

This tiny robot might look like a high-tech hamster ball, but it could hasten lunar exploration

The Tianwen-2 spacecraft is slowly closing in on the near-Earth asteroid Kamo‘oalewa, on a mission that would bring China’s first asteroid samples back to Earth in 2027

Johanna Gabriela Ottilie “Tilly” Edinger dedicated her career to studying ancient brains. It saved her life

Extreme heat poses a risk to players, spectators and workers—find out where the danger is and how to keep cool

When asteroids slam into Earth, they can create hydrothermal vent systems