Chemistry

Is the “unique snowflake” just flake news? Mother Nature might never produce two identical snowflakes, thanks to the near-infinite variability of the conditions affecting ice crystal formation. But a Caltech scientist has developed a process for growing pairs of twin snowflakes.

The organizing scheme that revolutionized our understanding of the chemical elements turns 150 in 2019

A new report looks at the amount of pesticides that are making their way to our plates

A saturating science project from Science Buddies

Eight years after the nuclear meltdown, wary citizens are moving back to contaminated homesteads—some not by choice

Scientific American assistant news editor, Tanya Lewis, and collections editor, Andrea Gawrylewski, take a deeper look at two short articles from the Advances news section of the December issue, on counterfeit whiskeys and the effect of real ecstasy...on octopuses.

Researchers have a lot to learn about the previously banned crop before it flourishes on U.S. farms

A cool activity from Science Buddies

The absence of substances originating from coffee, chocolate, nicotine and blood in pee could indicate foul play 

Nanotech particles tucked into a gel coating can prevent poisoning by deadly organophosphates for a week or more

A few brief reports about international science and technology from Germany to Rwanda, including one on the discovery of the world's oldest known brewery, discovered in Israel.

Pine needles can easily be broken down into sugars as well as the building blocks of paint, adhesives and medicines. Christopher Intagliata reports.