Space ExplorationOctober 1, 2023
Why We’ll Never Live in Space
Medical, financial and ethical hurdles stand in the way of the dream to settle in space
Stories by Sarah Scoles
Sarah Scoles is a Colorado-based science journalist and a contributing editor at Scientific American. Her newest book is Countdown: The Blinding Future of Nuclear Weapons (Bold Type Books, 2024).
AstronomyAugust 29, 2023
Will the Universe Ever Stop Expanding?
Scientists debate what the future of the cosmos looks like and whether space will ever stop getting bigger and bigger
Quantum PhysicsAugust 19, 2023
Will Scientists Ever Find a Theory of Everything?
Physicists are on an ever urgent quest to find a fuller understanding of what makes the cosmos tick, which they call a theory of everything
Space ExplorationJuly 10, 2023
I Survived a Weekend at Biosphere 2 Pretending to Be in Space
At a stay in Biosphere 2, I went in skeptical but learned to understand why analog astronauts love what they do
AstrophysicsApril 26, 2023
Is Time Travel Possible?
The laws of physics allow time travel. So why haven’t people become chronological hoppers?
Extraterrestrial LifeFebruary 22, 2023
How Do We Find Aliens? Maybe Unlearn What We Know About ‘Life’ First
Science might be redefining what “life out there” really means.
ComputingFebruary 9, 2023
New Exascale Supercomputer Can Do a Quintillion Calculations a Second
New “exascale” supercomputers will bring breakthroughs in science. But the technology also exists to study nuclear weapons
Extraterrestrial LifeFebruary 1, 2023
The Search for Extraterrestrial Life as We Don’t Know It
Scientists are abandoning conventional thinking to search for extraterrestrial creatures that bear little resemblance to Earthlings
Planetary ScienceAugust 15, 2022
NASA’s UFO Study Isn’t Really Looking for Space Aliens
A new investigation of unidentified aerial phenomena could have bigger impacts on atmospheric science than on astrobiology
EnergyMarch 11, 2022
Radioactive Material Is Basically Everywhere and That’s a Problem
The RadSecure program aims to remove dangerous substances from medical facilities and other industries
Public HealthJanuary 27, 2022
Nuclear-Testing ‘Downwinders’ Speak about History and Fear
An archival project aims to document the experiences of people who suffered from U.S. nuclear weapons testing
Space & PhysicsJune 1, 2021
Are We Doing Enough to Protect Earth from Asteroids?
Scientists lost one of their best tools with the demise of the Arecibo telescope
Space & PhysicsNovember 18, 2019
Space Alien Research Could Get Its First Grad Program
Scientists aim to make the search for extraterrestrial intelligence academically respectable
Space & PhysicsAugust 1, 2019
The Good Kind of Crazy: The Quest for Exotic Propulsion
Traditional rockets won't get us to the stars. Some scientists are pushing against the edges of physics to find out what will
The SciencesJuly 11, 2017
Physicists Go Deep in Search of Dark Matter
A laboratory buried nearly a mile beneath South Dakota is at the forefront of a global push for subterranean science
Space & PhysicsJune 6, 2016
World's Largest Radio Telescope Faces a Troubling Future
The National Science Foundation is considering pulling its support from the famous Arecibo radio dish in Puerto Rico
Space & PhysicsMarch 30, 2016
NASA Considers Its Next Flagship Space Telescope
The space agency has embarked on a long and arduous process to select a new grand space observatory that will meet the needs of astronomers in the mid-2030s