Scientific American

An Eta Aquarid meteor streaks over northern Georgia on April 29, 2012.

AstronomyMay 3, 2026

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

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

Adam Kovac

A large brown and white octopus floating above the sandy-floor of a shallow sea.

NeuroscienceMay 2, 2026

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

Liam Drew, Nature magazine

Climate ChangeApril 30, 2026

Scientists just discovered what is fueling cows’ potent burps

Jackie Flynn Mogensen

A small songbird with a yellow head and body and gray wings perches on a branch.

AnimalsMay 1, 2026

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

Kate Wong

Scientific American Magazine Vol 264 Issue 5 shows a pixellated blue cat.

GamesMay 3, 2026

Cover Art Jigsaw: May 1991

K. R. Callaway

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Illustration showing a person sweeping some scientific equipment along with some scientists using a broom shaped like the White House.

PolicyMay 3, 2026

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

Max Kozlov, Alexandra Witze, Dan Garisto, Nature magazine

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration headquarters shown with grass in the foreground in Silver Spring, Maryland, on April 28, 2026.

CancerMay 2, 2026

Why the FDA rejected a ‘breakthrough’ melanoma drug

K. R. Callaway

A full moon.

SpacecraftMay 1, 2026

A SpaceX rocket booster is on track to hit the moon at several times the speed of sound

Adam Kovac

NASA’s X-59 in the air.

TechnologyMay 1, 2026

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

Jackie Flynn Mogensen

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May 2026 Issue

A conceptual illustration of a heart in flames.

Heart disease

The hidden cause of heart disease is inflammation

Melinda Wenner Moyer

A researcher wearing white gloves seals a quartz tube to form the ampoule shape (left); A close up of five quartz tubes (right).

Quantum Physics

How strange new ‘altermagnets’ could rewrite physics

Bob Henderson

Illustration of the scene of the aftermath of an asteroid strike with dinosaurs dying and advanced birds taking wing.

Evolution

How birds survived the dinosaurs’ doomsday

Steve Brusatte

A dimensional spacecraft inside a cutout of a suitcase against a blue background.

Spacecraft

Space hotels are coming soon

Jonathan O'Callaghan

A dimensional perfume bottle inside a cutout of a chemistry glassware flask against a pink background.

Chemistry

Inside the labs where chemists engineer luxury perfumes

April Long

A dimensional watch inside a cutout of a toothed gear against a green background.

Engineering

How a lost 1812 wristwatch sparked a 200-year race in precision engineering

Jeanna Bryner

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Games

A robot hand reaches toward bubbles with letters in them

Spellements

Create as many words as you can!

Illustration of a hand and multiple numbers against a purple background.

Math Puzzles

Stretch your math muscles with these puzzles.

A robot hand unleashes a swirl of puzzle pieces, crosswords, and circles with numbers and letters

All Games

Science inspired games, puzzles and quizzes

Special Edition

A number of suns floating with Red Blood cells

Health

Can sunlight cure disease?

Rowan Jacobsen

Pile of peanuts

Public Health

Can peanut allergies be cured?

Maryn McKenna

Illustration of a Vitamin D pill bottle with yellow balloons flying out of it, then being popped by a pin in a hand.

Public Health

How much vitamin D do you need to stay healthy?

Christie Aschwanden

Illustration of a row of human figures (minimialist in style—just outlines, even stick figures), each in a different rainbow color, with a row of vaccines (eg needle plus vial) above the row of humans.

Medicine

Personalized mRNA vaccines will revolutionize cancer treatment—if funding cuts don’t doom them

Rowan Moore Gerety

Illustration of a face, with an enlarged nasal cavity. Inside the nasal cavity are three health care professionals with nasal spray bottles and colorful patterns

Pharmaceuticals

New nasal vaccines offer better protection from COVID and flu—no needle needed

Stephani Sutherland

Illustration of a doctor in a white lab coat, using a bow and arrow.

Pharmaceuticals

These cancers were beyond treatment—but might not be anymore

Jyoti Madhusoodanan

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Podcasts

Illustration of a man taking magic mushrooms orally

Inside the ibogaine rush: How psychedelic therapy is going mainstream

Rachel Feltman, Sushmita Pathak, Alex Sugiura

An illustration of the book cover "The Edge of Space-Time"

BooksApril 29, 2026

How Star Trek, Missy Elliott and queer theory help explain the deepest questions in physics

Brianne Kane, Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, Fonda Mwangi, Jeffery DelViscio, Alex Sugiura, Naeem Amarsy, Rachel Feltman

Illustration of NASA's Curiosity rover on Mars

MarsApril 27, 2026

Organic molecules on Mars, good news about suicide hotline, the AI voice clone advantage

Rachel Feltman, Sushmita Pathak, Alex Sugiura

An image of two monkeys for sale in a cage.

AnimalsApril 24, 2026

The global wildlife trade may be spreading diseases faster than ever

Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Alex Sugiura

Conceptual image showing a woman placing a bandange of a large globe against a blue background

Climate ChangeApril 22, 2026

Amid climate doom, here’s an Earth Day reminder about spectacular environmental wins

Rachel Feltman, Sushmita Pathak, Alex Sugiura

Discussions

Spring bird migration is peaking! What are you hoping to see this season?

6View the Discussion

Should athletes be allowed to use performance-enhancing gear?

20View the Discussion

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Popular Stories

A full moon.

SpacecraftMay 1, 2026

A SpaceX rocket booster is on track to hit the moon at several times the speed of sound

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

Adam Kovac

NASA’s X-59 in the air.

TechnologyMay 1, 2026

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

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

Jackie Flynn Mogensen

An abstract circle shape spins a light trail on a black background.

Particle PhysicsApril 30, 2026

What’s faster than light? Darkness

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

Adam Kovac

A screengrab of an episode of the Simpsons, with Homer Simpson writing mathematical equations on a chalkboard

MathematicsApril 28, 2026

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

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

Manon Bischoff

A small songbird with a yellow head and body and gray wings perches on a branch.

AnimalsMay 1, 2026

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

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

Kate Wong

An orange cube resembling a puzzle, suspended in space against a lavender background.

MathematicsApril 24, 2026

An amateur just solved a 60-year-old math problem—by asking AI

A ChatGPT AI has proved a conjecture with a method no human had thought of. Experts believe it may have further uses

Joseph Howlett

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