EcologySeptember 16, 2025
The Secret Lives of Dead Trees
Forest ecologist Mark Harmon has been exhaustively examining dead logs for 40 years, and he’s found a complex world few people see
Stories by Stephen Ornes
Stephen Ornes is a freelance writer who has written about whale falls, extrasolar planets and the mathematics of cake cutting. His book, Breakdown: A Brief History of the End of the Universe and Everything in It, will be published next year.
PrivacyJune 15, 2023
Secret Messages Can Hide in AI-Generated Media
In steganography, an ordinary message masks the presence of a secret communication. Humans can never do it perfectly, but a new study shows it’s possible for machines
CultureSeptember 1, 2020
When Scientific American Made M. C. Escher Famous
In the 1960s Martin Gardner helped to turn the artist M. C. Escher into a sensation
Space & PhysicsSeptember 1, 2019
Perfect Crepes, by Way of Physics
Fluid-mechanics simulations point to the ideal technique
The SciencesDecember 1, 2018
Unraveling the Mathematics of Smell
Scientists have created a “map” of odor molecules, which could ultimately be used to predict new scent combinations
The SciencesAugust 1, 2018
Gallery: Beautiful Works of Art Are Generated by Austere Mathematical Rules
Images and sculptures inspired by mathematical principles show off the intense beauty of the discipline