Soft Robot Moves by Mimicking Plants
A tough but flexible bot unfurls like a plant using a pressurized plastic tube to inch through rugged environments.
Stories by Lydia Chain
Watch a Wolf Pup Vet Visit
These eight-week-old Mexican gray wolf puppies got a clean bill of health at their first vet checkup this week.
A Close-Up of Jupiter's Great Red Spot
New photos were just released from Juno’s most recent flyover of the enormous storm raging on Jupiter.
Giant Model Mimics Damaged Dam Spillway
When the Oroville Dam spillway cracked and failed after a wet California winter, a team of scientists created a one fiftieth–scale model of the damaged concrete and eroded hillside to help guide the reconstruction.
Sex on the Beach, Grunion Style
California grunions know how to make the most of a beach vacation. When the tides are right, these silvery fish flop up onto the sand and go in search of a mate.
Why Do Allergies Make You Sneeze?
Do you suffer from allergies? Follow the dendritic cell and the entire Scientific American Allergy Orchestra to discover how allergens from pollen to pet dander can change the body's tune.
Wing Windows Reveal Insect Origami
Ladybird beetle wings fold themselves into a tidy package after flight, and now scientists understand how it works.
Tackling China's Devastating Yellow River Floods
After learning how the waterway transports a billion tons of sediment into the sea each year, scientists built a tool that may help predict the inundations that impact some 80 million people.
Slime Houses of Pinky-Size Plankton Cycle Carbon
See how a giant Larvacean’s intricate mucus house, constructed for filter feeding, contributes to oceanic carbon cycling.
Scientists and Science Supporters Marched--Now What?
Thousands congregated in the nation's capital and other cities in the U.S. and around the world to support scientific research and protest Trump administration–proposed budget cuts. Scientific American spoke with researchers, students and fact-loving activists at the New York City and D.C. marches.
4-D Printed Shapes Bloom in Heat
These plastic objects are designed to shape-shift when they warm up.
Watch a Badger Bury a Cow
This badger built itself a “refrigerator” in the desert to stash its food windfall.
How Honeybees Brush Their Eye Hairs
Flitting among the flowers can be messy, sticky work.
The 10 Weirdest Things in the Solar System
Pierogi moons, rubber duckie comets and spewing ice balls: We have some very strange neighbors among the myriad planets, moons and objects that circle our sun.
Tracing a Gaze to Understand Language Delays
Researchers use eye-tracking software to peek inside a child's mind when words fail, reading eye patterns to understand language production and combat conditions such as specific language impairment.
Parrot "Giggles" Trigger Play
Kea parrots have a special call that makes nearby parrots burst into play.
How to Calculate a Bigger Slice of Pi
For thousands of years people have struggled to pin down pi. Watch how mathematicians from Archimedes on have wrapped their heads around the math of circles.
Bug Eyes Let Robber Flies Hunt with Killer Focus
Adapted lenses allow the tiny robber fly to see like a much larger predator, helping it carry out sophisticated aerial attacks.
This Itch Is Infectious
Many social animals start to feel itchy after watching one of their fellows scratch, and scientists now have a better understanding of why an itch can spread through a group.
This Beat-Bot's Got Groove!
Could the drummer robot lead its cyber brethren to march in sync—or maybe someday even start a band?
