Scientific American

The reddish-orange cliffs of the Grand Canyon at sunset with the blue of the Colorado River snaking through and some green plants in the foreground

GeologyApril 16, 2026

The mystery of how and when the Grand Canyon formed gets a new clue

A new study suggests a proto–Colorado River filled a large basin before spilling westward to set the Grand Canyon’s modern path

Cody Cottier

Material from a large blue star is funneled onto a nearby black hole. The black hole is launching jets from its poles that are pushed by the stellar wind from the nearby star.

Black HolesApril 16, 2026

Secrets of cosmic evolution may lurk in this black hole’s ‘dancing’ jets

Lee Billings

Taken 36 minutes before Earthset, our home planet is visible in the blackness of space off the limb of the illuminated Moon. Earth is in a crescent phase, with sunlight coming from the right. Orientale mare basin, with its dark floor of cooled lava and outer rings of mountains, covers nearly the lower third of the imaged lunar surface. Different colors in the mare hint at its mineral composition. The lines of small indentations above Orientale are secondary crater chains, formed by material ejected during a violent primary impact. Both of the new craters that the Artemis II crew has suggested names for – Integrity and Carroll – are in full view. The edge of the visible surface of the Moon is called the “lunar limb.” Seen from afar, it almost looks like a circular arc – except when backlit, as in other images captured by the Artemis II crew.

Space ExplorationApril 16, 2026

How far from humanity were the astronauts of Artemis II? The answer will surprise you

K. R. Callaway

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

EvolutionApril 14, 2026

How birds survived the dinosaurs’ doomsday

Steve Brusatte

A robot hand reaches toward bubbles with letters in them

GamesApril 17, 2026

Today’s Spellements

Emma R. Hasson

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Illustration of two fingers holding an egg and an owl

Artificial IntelligenceAugust 29, 2025

Student AIs pick up unexpected traits from teachers through subliminal learning

Emma R. Hasson

An official portrait of a smiling woman in a Naval uniform.

Public HealthApril 16, 2026

Former deputy surgeon general Erica Schwartz nominated as new CDC chief

Dan Vergano

The Artemis II crew in front of the Orion space capsule

Space ExplorationApril 16, 2026

After their historic moon mission, NASA’s Artemis II astronauts say thank you to the world

Claire Cameron

Medium close-up of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., testifying before Congress.

PoliticsApril 16, 2026

Congress grills RFK, Jr., about vaccines and cuts to health budget

Dan Vergano

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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 showing Pokémon trading cards spread out face down on a flat surface

The fans who went from collecting Pokémon to studying bugs and fossils

Kendra Pierre-Louis, Sushmita Pathak, Alex Sugiura

An image of the nearside of the moon

Space ExplorationApril 13, 2026

Artemis proves NASA can return to the moon. Now comes the hard question: Why?

Kendra Pierre-Louis, Claire Cameron, Lee Billings, Emma Gometz, Joseph Howlett, Fonda Mwangi, Alex Sugiura, Kylie Murphy, Sushmita Pathak

An illustration of the book cover 'Hell's Heart' with a pink octopus looking creature.

BooksApril 10, 2026

Alexis Hall talks space whales, AI and reinventing a classic

Brianne Kane, Fonda Mwangi, Alex Sugiura, Kendra Pierre-Louis

An image of a gloved hand holding a vile of of the MMR vaccine.

MeaslesApril 8, 2026

Experts warn that communities underestimate measles’ danger

Kendra Pierre-Louis, Lauren J. Young, Fonda Mwangi, Alex Sugiura

Illustration of a small patch of snow on the ground against a hilly backdrop

Climate ChangeApril 6, 2026

NASA’s Artemis II nears the moon, oil trumps endangered species, snowpack plummets

Kendra Pierre-Louis, Andrea Thompson, Sushmita Pathak, Alex Sugiura

Discussions

What is the most scientifically advanced gadget or other possession would you love to have?

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Do you think "impossible" objects from mathematics are "real," even if they can't be constructed in our world?

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Popular Stories

Conceptual illustration of an eagle with numbers overlapping its silhouette.

Quantum ComputingApril 14, 2026

DARPA’s AI is built to call BS on wild weapons claims

The SciFy program tests whether adversaries’ most outlandish scientific claims add up or fall apart

Sarah Scoles

Boy looking through orange spring toy outdoors.

NeuroscienceApril 15, 2026

A face-swapping illusion can unlock childhood memories

By making people feel as if they inhabit a younger version of their own face, researchers can bring childhood memories into sharper focus

Jane Aspell, Utkarsh Gupta

A conceptual illustration of a heart in flames.

Heart diseaseApril 14, 2026

The hidden cause of heart disease is inflammation

Immune system overreactions may be the true culprit of cardiac illness—and lifesaving drugs can calm them down

Melinda Wenner Moyer

A rectangle is filled with lines of cubes creating paths at right angles and ladders through the space.

MathematicsApril 14, 2026

Mathematicians created an ‘impossible’ shape that shouldn’t exist

Scientists have designed a new kind of paradoxical shape

Clara Moskowitz, Robert Ghrist

A bee burrows in the ground

AnimalsApril 14, 2026

Scientists just discovered 5.6 million bees under a New York State cemetery

This whopping bee aggregation is one of the largest and oldest ever recorded, according to a new study

Jackie Flynn Mogensen

A small portion of DESI’s year-five map in which the large-scale structure of the universe, created by gravity, is visible. Each dot represents a galaxy. The denser areas indicate regions where galaxies and galaxy clusters have clumped together to form the strands of the cosmic web. Also seen are large voids between the filaments.

AstrophysicsApril 16, 2026

Behold! This is the largest, sharpest 3D map of the universe yet

A new map of the cosmos, including more than 47 million galaxies and other cosmic objects, represents one of the most extensive surveys of our universe ever conducted

Claire Cameron

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