Scientific American

Portrait photograph of Mark Kelly provided by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images.

Young American ScientistsJune 16, 2026

Senator Mark Kelly reveals why science is critical to America’s future

On steering the path forward for research and innovation

Claire Cameron

A piece of new blue paint, a part of President Donald Trump’s renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, peels off from the bottom of the pool on June 18, 2026, in Washington, D.C.

Materials ScienceJune 22, 2026

Why is the paint peeling off the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool? An investigation

Adam Kovac

Portrait photograph of Adam Bowman, Chee-Huat Linus Eng, Jenny Bergner, Kaiyi Jiang, Christina V. Theodoris, Lvmin Zhang, Steven Chavez and Dmitrii Kochkov.

Young American ScientistsJune 16, 2026

How we chose the 2026 Young American Scientists

Ari Sen

A small, blurry blue ball of light against a black sky.

CosmologyJune 22, 2026

Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS is almost as old as the universe itself

Joseph Howlett

GamesJune 23, 2026

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Composite coloured scanning electron micrograph of a needle with bone marrow cells inside.

Stem cellsJune 22, 2026

Stem cells banish severe autoimmune disease for 15 years

Rachel Fieldhouse, Nature magazine

Two small helicopters fly above a rough, orange-red landscape.

MarsJune 22, 2026

Will NASA’s SkyFall Mars helicopter fleet sink science at the Red Planet?

Meghan Bartels

An illustration of 16 ticks of different sizes and shapes, with a pencil and small tweezers for scale.

Public HealthJune 22, 2026

Got a tick bite? Here’s what to do—and what not to do

Kate Wong

Illustration of Brazilian soccer player Bruno Guimaraes pouring water on his head during a 2026 World Cup match

Public HealthJune 22, 2026

Ebola cases surge, the World Cup heats up, and fatherhood changes the brain

Rachel Feltman, Andrea Thompson, Tanya Lewis, Sushmita Pathak, Alex Sugiura

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July/August 2026 Issue

Conceptual art illustrating the state of American science. A large hand removes bricks from a Jenga-style tower supporting individuals and a microscope.

Social Sciences

U.S. science is in chaos

Adam Rogers

Collage style illustration by Max-o-matic showing different areas of science, government buildings, data samples and maps.

Science Education

On our radar

Megha Satyanarayana

Close-up portrait photograph of J. Craig Venter, image provided by K.C. Alfred/San Diego Union-Tribune/Getty Images.

Biology

Craig Venter

Jeanna Bryner

Collage style illustration by Max-o-matic showing different areas of science.

Space & Physics

My childhood in science

Alan Lightman

Illustration of an individual in a lab coat with a beaker containing a glowing liquid. The individual is ascending a DNA structure staircase. Using the glowing beaker as a guiding light, past newspaper clippings on a wall.

History of Science

When science is under siege, history offers a playbook

Deborah Blum

Portrait photograph of Atul Gawande provided by Priyanka Parashar/Mint/Getty Images.

Public Health

Atul Gawande

Tara Haelle

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The Young American Scientists

Portrait photograph of Adam Bowman, Chee-Huat Linus Eng, Jenny Bergner, Kaiyi Jiang, Christina V. Theodoris, Lvmin Zhang, Steven Chavez and Dmitrii Kochkov.

How we chose the 2026 Young American Scientists

Ari Sen

Stylized illustration by Olga Aleksandrova depicting scientists looks at world maps, photos of cities and stamps. Aiming to underscore the appeal of jobs outside of the United States.

Society & PolicyJune 16, 2026

Dozens of countries are trying to lure U.S. scientists abroad—and it’s working

Sarah Scoles

Vera C. Rubin Observatory in the foreground, against a rose-gold sky.

The SciencesJune 16, 2026

Inside U.S. labs at a moment of fear—and unexpected promise

Rebecca Boyle

Collage style illustration by Max-o-matic showing different areas of science.

CultureJune 16, 2026

What people get wrong about scientists

Dava Sobel

Explore Collection

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

An illustration of a galaxy.

Astronomy

The new story of the Milky Way’s surprisingly turbulent past

Ann Finkbeiner

Doark amorphous shape

Dark Matter

Dark matter might lurk in its own shadow world

Kathryn Zurek

Illustration of a woman at a desk and her dog living in a spacecraft.

Space Exploration

Why we'll never live in space

Sarah Scoles

Illustration of a black hole in a geometric-like universe

Black Holes

The puzzle of the first black holes

Priyamvada Natarajan

Illustration of a dragon-like creature coming to life out of a long roll of paper

Astrophysics

What if we never find dark matter?

Tracy R. Slatyer, Tim M. P. Tait

Conceptual image of the timeline of the cosmos

Cosmology

Astronomers’ epic quest to witness the cosmic dawn

Rebecca Boyle

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Podcasts

Illustration of Brazilian soccer player Bruno Guimaraes pouring water on his head during a 2026 World Cup match

Ebola cases surge, the World Cup heats up, and fatherhood changes the brain

Rachel Feltman, Andrea Thompson, Tanya Lewis, Sushmita Pathak, Alex Sugiura

An image of a woman sitting down in a lab.

HealthJune 19, 2026

How viruses may reshape the body’s ‘soil’ to promote cancer growth

Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Alex Sugiura

Conceptual image of a human brain against a dark background

NeuroscienceJune 17, 2026

Learning from unexpected results: This neuroscientist is redefining how the brain learns

Rachel Feltman, Sushmita Pathak, Alex Sugiura

Portrait photograph of Erini Lambrides taken by Jeffery DelViscio

AstrophysicsJune 16, 2026

How Erini Lambrides went from seeking theater stardom to studying the stars at NASA

Rachel Feltman, Sushmita Pathak, Alex Sugiura

The director and cast of the movie Disclosure Day pose in front of a banner with the name of the movie for a promotional event

LanguageJune 12, 2026

Disclosure Day raises a big question: How do you talk to aliens?

Rachel Feltman, Sushmita Pathak, Brianne Kane, Alex Sugiura

Discussions

What role do you think government should play in science?

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Take me to your reader: Scientific American staff recommend their favorite alien books, but what’s your favorite?

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