Scientific American

An illustration of green computer chips and purple spheres representing quantum bits seem to fly out from a central point of light.

Quantum ComputingMay 19, 2026

What’s a quantum computer good for, anyway?

Quantum computing could lead to revolutions in cryptography, materials design and telecommunications. But fulfilling those promises could be many years away

Zeeya Merali

MathematicsMay 21, 2026

OpenAI announces AI’s biggest math breakthrough yet

Joseph Howlett

A rocket blasting off against a gray sky with a cloud of exhaust below it

SpacecraftMay 21, 2026

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

Claire Cameron

Six spheres are shown, each holding a different qubit icon.

Quantum ComputingMay 19, 2026

An illustrated field guide to qubits

Clara Moskowitz, Ben Gilliland, Amanda Hobbs

An illustrated robot holds out a luminescent orb with a Sudoku number grid inside

GamesMay 21, 2026

Today’s Expert Sudoku

SAVE $80 ON AN UNLIMITED SUBSCRIPTION TODAY!

Abstract apocalyptic background showing a burning and exploding planet Earth in an orange-red sky.

MathematicsMay 21, 2026

Can math predict the end of humanity?

Jack Murtagh

A spindly harvestman in the midst of trapping and consuming a frog of about the same size as it on top of a green leaf

AnimalsMay 21, 2026

Daddy longlegs are actually bloodthirsty killers—of frogs

Jake Buehler

A chicken hatched from an artificial egg created by Colossal Biosciences.

ExtinctionMay 20, 2026

A contentious effort to ‘resurrect’ the extinct moa and dodo takes a step forward

Meghan Bartels, Adam Kovac

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., in a blue suit in front of the American flag

Mind & BrainMay 20, 2026

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

Claire Cameron

View All Stories

June 2026 Issue

A chandelier-shaped cooling system for the quantum computer IBM Quantum System Two.

Quantum Physics

Quantum computing is reaching its make-or-break moment

Adam Becker

An illustration of green computer chips and purple spheres representing quantum bits seem to fly out from a central point of light.

Quantum Computing

What’s a quantum computer good for, anyway?

Zeeya Merali

A stretch of the Via Appia showing the straight construction and stone paving associated with classic Roman roads

Archaeology

New map reveals lost roads of the Roman Empire

Tom Brughmans

An orange and red cross-hatched gradient forms a four-lobed shape over a vast coordinate plane. Along the “x-axis” at the center is a black blob, shaped like a horizontal tear-drop.

Mathematics

The million-dollar math problem hardly anyone is trying to solve

Joseph Howlett

NASA’s Space Launch System rocket launches on a fiery pillar of exhaust surrounded by billowing clouds, sending the Orion crew capsule of the space agency’s Artemis II lunar mission into orbit.

Space Exploration

NASA’s Artemis II launched on first crewed moon mission of the 21st century

Nadia Drake

A false-color view of the moon's Orientale Basin.

Planetary Science

NASA’s Artemis era may finally solve three major moon mysteries

Robin George Andrews

View Full Issue Explore Archive

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

View Full Issue Explore Archive

Podcasts

An image of the full moon on a starry background

Putting a nuclear reactor on the moon: big promise, bigger challenges

Rachel Feltman, Robin George Andrews, Fonda Mwangi, Alex Sugiura

Illustration of passengers From hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius arriving at Eindhoven Airport

Public HealthMay 18, 2026

Hantavirus outbreak has new updates, PCOS is now PMOS, fish hides in another animal’s ‘butthole’

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

An illustration of a book cover of a women's silhouette on a dark purple background.

CancerMay 15, 2026

Black women’s ‘womb crisis’ extends far beyond maternal mortality

Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Alex Sugiura

An image of boxes of Barilla Protein Plus pasta displayed on a shelf in a supermarket, highlighting a high protein content

NutritionMay 13, 2026

Why everyone is obsessed with protein—and whether you actually need more

Rachel Feltman, Bethany Brookshire, Fonda Mwangi, Alex Sugiura

An image of gloved hands holding a Hantavirus sample in a tube while wearing a blue scrubs.

Public HealthMay 11, 2026

Hantavirus outbreak occurs at sea, microplastics may contribute to warming, and Alaska landslide sparks tsunami

Rachel Feltman, Tanya Lewis, Andrea Gawrylewski, Fonda Mwangi, Alex Sugiura

Discussions

Do you think the Riemann Hypothesis is true? Will anyone ever prove it?

1View the Discussion

What do you want to know about hantavirus?

2View the Discussion

View All Discussions

Popular Stories

SpaceX's Starship launches during a test flight in 2025.

SpacecraftMay 19, 2026

SpaceX punts Starship launch as investigation opens into Starbase worker’s death

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

Claire Cameron

A stretch of the Via Appia showing the straight construction and stone paving associated with classic Roman roads

ArchaeologyMay 19, 2026

New map reveals lost roads of the Roman Empire

A massive digitization project has nearly doubled the known extent of the first continent-scale road network

Tom Brughmans

An orange and red cross-hatched gradient forms a four-lobed shape over a vast coordinate plane. Along the “x-axis” at the center is a black blob, shaped like a horizontal tear-drop.

MathematicsMay 19, 2026

The million-dollar math problem hardly anyone is trying to solve

The intimidating legacy of the scariest problem in mathematics

Joseph Howlett

A chandelier-shaped cooling system for the quantum computer IBM Quantum System Two.

Quantum PhysicsMay 19, 2026

Quantum computing is reaching its make-or-break moment

Will computers based on quantum physics really change the world?

Adam Becker

Colorado Avalanche players, including center Martin Necas (88), left wing Gabriel Landeskog (92), center Nazem Kadri (91) and defenseman Cale Makar (8), celebrate after a goal by center Nathan MacKinnon (29) at Ball Arena in Denver, Colo., on May 5, 2026.

ExerciseMay 20, 2026

The Colorado Avalanche is dominating the NHL. The reason could lie in a quirk of geography

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

Adam Kovac

An illustration of a woman on a pastel background

TechnologyMay 18, 2026

The programmer whose code underpins the Internet

Sharla Boehm, a math teacher, spent her summers coding. She’d go on to build what would eventually evolve into the Internet

Katie Hafner, Samia Bouzid, Laura Isensee, The Lost Women of Science Initiative

View All Stories