The Data, My Friend, Is Blowing in the Wind
Interactive data visualization maps predicted wind speeds around the world
Arts & Culture1008 articles archived since 1845
Elephant Ivory DNA Reveals Poaching Hotspots
Almost all the ivory in large stockpiles seized by law enforcement originates in just two locations in Africa, informing authorities about where to focus their resources.
Why Is the "Tears of Joy" Emoji Everywhere?
Although it doesn’t quite seem that we’re ready to chat in all emojis and only emojis, they are serving to modify our responses and add meaning in an environment where it could otherwise be difficult to interpret meaning...
Gravitational Waves Found: Kip Thorne Explains
Scientific American 's Josh Fischman talks with renowned astrophysicist and general relativity expert Kip Thorne about the discovery of gravitational waves by the LIGO Project, co-founded by Thorne...
The Big Gath Dig: Goliath's Hometown
Freelance journalist Kevin Begos talks with archaeologist Aren Maeir, from Bar Ilan University in Israel, at his dig site in Gath, thought to be Goliath's hometown and a major city of the Philistine civilization...
A Visual (Information) Paradox
Search for answers about Stephen Hawking’s new theorem reveals a Scientific American tradition of illustrating the confounding complexity of black holes
Children with a Religious Upbringing Show Less Altruism
A controversial study with a surprising finding
Super Bowl Sunday's Food Needs Work
A public health advocate determined how much exercise is required to burn off various typical big game foods.
Why celebrate Black History Month? To #Decolonize STEM
February offers an opportunity to host a focused conversation about innovation, achievements and contributitions of the African diaspora. ...
Babylonians Tracked Jupiter with Fancy Math, Tablet Reveals
A clay tablet with cuneiform characters may contain a mathematical technique that was believed to be invented 1,400 years later
Slaughter of the Song Birds
Songbirds are a culinary delicacy in Cyprus—but catching and eating them is illegal. Even so, the practice is on the rise and could be threatening rare species
Musical Pitch Perception May Have Long Evolutionary History
A tiny primate, the marmoset, appears to process pitch perception the same way we do, implying that the ability evolved in a common ancestor at least 40 million years ago.
3-D Scanners Race to Monuments before Terrorists Blow Them Up
Digital virtualization is one way to preserve temples and statues from bombs, says anthropologist
Aviation Furniture: When Planes Come Home
A junkyard full of old airplanes turns out to be an artist’s playground. Several companies exist to turn historic old aircraft parts into seating, tables, picture frames, book shelves and any other piece of furniture you might imagine...
The War Effort against the Cold, 1916
Reported in Scientific American, this Week in World War I: January 22, 1916
"Cave of Forgotten Dreams" May Hold Earliest Painting of Volcanic Eruption
France's iconic Chauvet cave holds mysterious spray-shaped imagery, made around the time when nearby volcanoes were spewing lava
516 Bird Feet in 3,000 Square Feet
Call it the ultimate bird's-eye view of evolution: in Ithaca, N.Y., the paint is barely dry on an ambitious 3,000-square-foot mural celebrating the stunning diversity of birds
5 Science Art Exhibits Opening This Month
Five fascinating science art exhibits open this month—on the cosmos, changing seas, our relationship with nature and more. Get out and enjoy!
Roman Sanitation Didn't Stop Roaming Parasites
The University of Cambridge's Piers Mitchell, author of the 2015 book Sanitation, Latrines and Intestinal Parasites in Past Populations, talks about the counterintuitive findings in his recent paper in the journal Parasitology titled "Human parasites in the Roman World: health consequences of conquering an empire."
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Can Another Body Be Seen as an Extension of Your Own?
Surprising results show the fluidity of the "body schema"
