Why Two Moonships Were Better Than One
Engineer John Houbolt pushed for a smaller ship to land on the lunar surface while the command module stayed in orbit around the moon.
Arts & Culture516 articles archived since 1845
Why Baseballs Are Flying in 2019
An analysis of the 2019 edition of the Major League baseball points to reasons why it's leaving ballparks at a record rate.
Her Nobel Research Outshines Her Star Turn
Nobel Laureate Frances H. Arnold talks to Scientific American editor-in-chief Mariette DiChristina about her work, which takes advantage of the evolution algorithm to make entirely new enzymes that can perform useful chemistry...
Art Meets Science in These Dazzling Lamps Made of Microbes
Swedish designer Jan Klingler has garnered attention for his stunning lighting featuring bacteria
A Saturn V LEGO Set, a Moon Images Exhibit and New Science Books
Special Apollo 11–themed recommendations from the editors of Scientific American
Remembering Murray Gell-Mann
Murray Gell-Mann, 1969 Nobel Laureate in Physics who identified the quark, died May 24th.
An Intimate Portrait of Asian Elephants, A Case for Math-Driven Physics, and Other New Science Books
Book recommendations from the editors of Scientific American
Unread Books at Home Still Spark Literacy Habits
Growing up in a home filled with books enhances enhances intellectual capacity in later life, even if you don't read them all.
Ancient Whiz Opens Archaeology Window
The residue of ancient urine can reveal the presence of early stationary herder-farmer communities.
Uncovering the Sacrificial Puppies of the Shang Dynasty
A new study suggests young dogs were frequently buried with humans in China some 3,000 years ago, but the precise reasons remain elusive
Chemists Investigate Casanova's Clap
In his memoirs, the womanizing writer Giacomo Casanova described suffering several bouts of gonorrhea—but researchers found no trace of the microbe on his handwritten journals. Karen Hopkin reports...
Watching Apollo 11 with NASA Historian Bill Barry
The agency’s chief historian discusses the film and what the moon missions can teach us about global challenges today
Naturally Occurring High Testosterone Shouldn't Keep Female Athletes out of Competition
It is unscientific and unfair to bar female athletes with elevated testosterone
Humanity's Golden Record, Bubonic Plague in the U.S., and Other New Science Books
Book recommendations from the editors of Scientific American
How the Black Hole Said Cheese
Scientific American 's chief features editor Seth Fletcher talks about his book Einstein's Shadow, an account of the long effort to image a black hole that recently came to fruition...
4/20 Traffic Accidents Claim Curbed
A deeper data dive calls into question a 2018 study that found a spike in fatal traffic accidents apparently related to marijuana consumption on this date.
Nobelist Says System of Science Offers Life Lessons
At an April 9th event sponsored by the Kavli Foundation and produced by Scientific American that honored Nobel and Kavli Prize winners, economist Paul Romer talked about how the social system of science offers hope for humanity and for how we can live with each other...
A New View of Life on Earth, the Paradox of Quantum Reality and Other New Science Books
Book recommendations from the editors of Scientific American
Scientific American Is the Source of More Than 1,000 New Terms
A famous dictionary cites the magazine for new words and new meanings of old words
There's a Word for Today
English lacks some words that other languages pack with meaning.
