Culture
Uncovering the Sacrificial Puppies of the Shang Dynasty
A new study suggests young dogs were frequently buried with humans in China some 3,000 years ago, but the precise reasons remain elusive
Culture1079 articles archived since 1845
Culture
Chemists Investigate Casanova’s Clap
In his memoirs, the womanizing writer Giacomo Casanova described suffering several bouts of gonorrhea—but researchers found no trace of the microbe on his handwritten journals. Karen Hopkin reports...
Culture
Captain America vs. Thanos: Who's on the Side of Science?
The newly released film Avengers: Endgame can help us make sense of some real-world biotechnology
Culture
Chemistry Can Be More Fun than You Think
A first-year college student has rebooted the periodic table of the elements in a whimsical and compelling way
Watching Apollo 11 with NASA Historian Bill Barry
The agency’s chief historian discusses the film and what the moon missions can teach us about global challenges today
Policy
Naturally Occurring High Testosterone Shouldn't Keep Female Athletes out of Competition
It is unscientific and unfair to bar female athletes with elevated testosterone
Humanity’s Golden Record, Bubonic Plague in the U.S., and Other New Science Books
Book recommendations from the editors of Scientific American
Space & Physics
How the Black Hole Said Cheese
Scientific American 's chief features editor Seth Fletcher talks about his book Einstein's Shadow, an account of the long effort to image a black hole that recently came to fruition...
Culture
Machines Can Create Art, but Can They Jam?
Jazz composition and performance is the next frontier in creative AI
Public Health
4/20 Traffic Accidents Claim Curbed
A deeper data dive calls into question a 2018 study that found a spike in fatal traffic accidents apparently related to marijuana consumption on this date.
Culture
The Best of the Quantum Shorts Film Festival
And the winner is … a tale about a parallel universe-hopping psychopath
Culture
Nobelist Says System of Science Offers Life Lessons
At an April 9th event sponsored by the Kavli Foundation and produced by Scientific American that honored Nobel and Kavli Prize winners, economist Paul Romer talked about how the social system of science offers hope for humanity and for how we can live with each other...
Culture
Thomas Kuhn Wasn't So Bad
A former student of the influential philosopher defends him against filmmaker Errol Morris’s “character assassination”
Culture
(Grey's) Anatomy of an Opioid Crisis
The popular medical drama gets it right—with a little romance on the side, naturally
A New View of Life on Earth, the Paradox of Quantum Reality and Other New Science Books
Book recommendations from the editors of Scientific American
Culture
Scientific American Is the Source of More Than 1,000 New Terms
A famous dictionary cites the magazine for new words and new meanings of old words
Culture
Science Fiction: The Cloudy Crystal Ball
Sci-fi has anticipated many scientific and technical breakthroughs—many of which never happened
Culture
There's A Word For Today
English lacks some words that other languages pack with meaning.
Mental Health
Scenic City Sights Linked to Higher Happiness
Tracking the location and mood of 15,000 people, researchers found that scenic beauty was linked to happiness—including near urban sights like bridges and buildings. Christopher Intagliata reports...
Why Losing Our Newspapers Is Breaking Our Politics
Study finds newspaper closures are linked to partisanship
