Humans Cross Another Danger Line for the Planet
Five years go an impressive, international group of scientists unveiled nine biological and environmental "boundaries" that humankind should not cross in order to keep the earth a livable place...
Stories by Mark Fischetti
The Papers Most Discussed in 2014
Scientists and the public differ in the research they find most interesting
Different Research Papers Score Big with Scientists and the Public
Twitter, mainstream media and academic blogs focus on surprisingly different scientific subjects
![Who Eats Whom under the Arctic Sea Ice [Video]](/public/resources/icon__SA-logo-placeholder--rect-3166a74694258e68c9c9fd6e14c45ff6.jpg){kind=icon}
Who Eats Whom under the Arctic Sea Ice [Video]
San Francisco — Although polar bears and seals have become the poster children for vanishing sea ice in the Arctic, they have thrived for a long time.
Frequent Flyers Could Take a Hit of Radiation from Lightning
San Francisco — The energy released by a lightning bolt is so strong that it creates an intense flash of light and usually loud thunder.
Less Sleep Means More Stress for Teens
Teens stay up late at night and sleep late into the morning, a result of a natural shift in their circadian rhythms. That biological schedule puts them at odds with the adult world, as well as early start times for high school...
Why Does Cancer Therapy Make Food Taste Terrible?
The chemicals attack taste buds while the brain associates nausea with eating
Robot Athletes Got Game [Video]
From baseball to billiards, robots are improving their play, even competing in the RoboCup and RoboGames
World Population Will Soar Higher Than Predicted
World population will hit nearly 11 billion by 2100
Ratio of Workers to Retirees Will Plummet Worldwide
As a nation's population ages, more and more older people may draw from support systems such as Social Security, yet fewer workers may be around to pay into those systems.
Misguided Wildfire Strategy Should Change
Controlling where and what people build in the wild can reduce risk more than controlling the amount of trees in a forest
29 Bullets Tell All about Climate Challenge
The results are in. Yesterday the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released it final report crystallizing 13 months of work by more than 800 scientists.
![Southeast Is the Most Unhealthy U.S. Region [Slide Show]](https://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/cache/file/134CF553-CC8E-413E-B351BDC61CCD5CE7_agenda.png?w=275&h=154&fit=crop)
Southeast Is the Most Unhealthy U.S. Region [Slide Show]
Illness is high and access to health care is low
Toyota and Honda Have the Most Fuel-Efficient Cars
Contrary to claims, not everyone is No. 1
Credits and Fines Allow Carmakers to Comply with Fuel-Efficiency Standards
Cars, SUVs and pickup trucks sold in the U.S. are quickly becoming more fuel efficient, in large part because Federal rules require them to be.
Microbes and Pathogen Genes Fill New York City Soil
With all the attention to the Ebola virus and other pathogens floating around in bodily fluids and the air, we may not be aware that the dirt beneath our feet is home to thousands of bacteria and other microorganisms...
Are You A Pre-crastinator?
Each of us, at times, can be a procrastinator, putting off something that is hard to do or that we don't want to do. But three researchers at Pennsylvania State University think we humans may also be precrastinators—hurrying to get something done so we can cross it off our mental to-do list, even if the [...]..
Sherry Turkle Explains Why Social Technologies Are Making Us Less Social
For the first time in the history of our species, we are never alone and never bored. Have we lost something fundamental about being human?
Passenger Pigeons Went Extinct 100 Years Ago
For nearly a minute the sky went black. Then it was over. I was standing in a long alley between two four-story brick buildings on a clear sunny day.
Sleepy Teens: High School Should Start Later in the Morning
High school begins across the U.S. this week and next. And it begins too early! Too early in the day, that is. Ask any groggy teenager waiting for a bus or yawning in "home room" and he or she will tell you that it's just too darn early in the morning to learn chemistry equations [...]..
