Dan Vergano is senior editor, Washington, D.C., at Scientific American. He has previously written for Grid News, BuzzFeed News, National Geographic and USA Today. He is chair of the New Horizons committee for the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing and a journalism award judge for both the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
The Strange Saga of the Great Texas Space Shuttle Heist
Texas lawmakers want to move the Smithsonian’s retired space shuttle to Houston. It’s “a vanity project that is apt to destroy a near-priceless American treasure,” one historian says
The Sordid Mystery of a Somalian Meteorite Smuggled into China
How a space rock vanished from Africa and showed up for sale across an ocean
U.S. Vaccine Guidance Is in Chaos, Fired CDC Director Tells Senators
Former CDC chief Susan Monarez testified that Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., had demanded she rubber-stamp recommendations from his remade vaccine panel
A ‘Make America Healthy Again’ Report Goes Easy on the Food Industry
A childhood health report led by RFK, Jr., links poor diet, chemicals, inactivity and “overmedicalization” to worsening U.S. pediatric health
U.S. States Start Sharp Divisions on Vaccines
West Coast states are forming their own vaccine compact as Florida announces plans to ditch shot requirements for schoolchildren
EPA Fires ‘Dissent’ Statement Signers
The EPA fired five agency employees who signed a June declaration decrying moves that contradict science and undermine public health and issued removal notices to four more
Voting Integrity Messages Fight Misinformation in the Lab. But What about the Real World?
Telling people exactly how voting security works helps defeat election misinformation, experiments suggest. But outside experts question how well that works in the real world
SpaceX Successfully Launches Starship Spacecraft after String of Mishaps
Overcoming three recent failed tries, Elon Musk’s rocket company successfully flew its reusable jumbo booster and upper-stage Starship spacecraft
U.S. Science and Scientific American Have Weathered Attacks Before and Won
Federal officials seized 3,000 copies of Scientific American in 1950 in a “red scare” era of attacks on science. The move backfired and offers lessons for today
‘Arsenic Life’ Microbe Study Retracted after 15 Years of Controversy
A controversial arsenic microbe study unveiled 15 years ago has been retracted. The study’s authors are crying foul
Science Tells Us the U.S. Is Heading toward a Dictatorship
The red flags abound—political research tells us the U.S. is becoming an autocracy
How NASA Can Make the Moon Great Again
An unhinged 2026 U.S. budget proposal would hollow NASA to a husk bent to Elon Musk’s whims. Only one mission can save the space agency
The Brainwashing Campaign That Is Measles Misinformation
A shameful mass propaganda campaign is unfolding in the U.S., one that will make millions of kids needlessly sick with measles
Firing Science Advisors Will Leave the U.S. Senseless
From public health to space exploration, advisory panels have helped U.S. agencies make smarter decisions. The Trump administration wants to kill them
The Dire Wolf Hoopla Hides the Real Story: How to Save Red Wolves
Rather than resurrect extinct species, cloning technology could save those at risk of dying out, like the red wolf, but only with solid conservation efforts and habitat protections
Ending Federal Research into Workplace Safety Is Dangerous
The Trump administration’s mass federal firings include the scientific investigators who make dangerous workplaces safe for millions of people
Trump Administration Attacks on Science Trigger Backlash from Researchers
“The risks of remaining silent at this defining time are far greater than the risks of speaking out,” says one scientist regarding the Trump administration’s attacks on science
Groupthink Explains Defense Department’s Signal Chat Fiasco
At the heart of the Trump administration’s Signal scandal lies the familiar psychological pitfall of groupthink
Top U.S. Scientists Speak Out against ‘Climate of Fear’ Wrecking U.S. Research
Despite fears that speaking out will make them targets, top researchers warn that the Trump administration’s “wholesale assault on U.S. science” will harm the nation
Courts Are Rejecting Politicized Attacks on Care for Trans Kids
Gender-affirming care attacked by right-wing groups is being reaffirmed by medical reviews and in the courtroom
Blaming Mexico for the U.S. Overdose Epidemic Is a Mistake
Tariffs on Mexico and Canada won’t stop the demand for addictive drugs
Bending Ultrasonic Beams Creates ‘Audible Enclaves’ Where They Cross
Inaudible ultrasonic beams steered around obstacles can create pockets of sound in an otherwise quiet room, acoustics experts report
A Science Protest Offers Insight into the Science of Protesting
“Stand Up for Science” shows how science supporters are coming together
Quantum Confusion Keeps Coming with Qubits
Schrödinger’s cat is scratching its head over the “topological” qubit that is causing a buzz in quantum computing. We should be, too