Culture
To Counteract Propaganda, We Should Look to Lessons from Advertising
The goal should not be conversion but doubt
Culture1079 articles archived since 1845
Space & Physics
Star Trek Legacy Lives On in Space Exploration [Video]
A film director, a rocket scientist and two physicists discuss how the television series influenced culture and inspired a generation of scientists
Culture
A virtual time machine for Venice
A thousand years of Venetian records, maps and images could digitally reconstruct this city's deep history, giving researchers insight into urban life, from disease patterns to trade trends. This video was reproduced with permission and was first published on June 14, 2017...
Culture
Daring Apollo 8 Astronauts, Rediscovering a Forgotten Math Genius and Other New Science Books
June book recommendations from the editors of Scientific American
Improbable Research Podcast, Installment 1: How Many Kids Can 1 Man Father in His Lifetime?
A medieval Moroccan emperor claimed a whopping 888—but is that even possible?
Culture
Whatever Happened to the Greenland Vikings?
They ruled the icy outpost for hundreds of years before their colonies collapsed. New findings are elucidating their puzzling decline
Culture
Fantastic Voyage: Polynesian Seafaring Canoe Completes Its Globe-Circling Journey
The Hōkūleʻa vessel is set to finish its first circumnavigation later this week in Honolulu
Behavior
Does TV Cultivate Authoritarianism?
Researchers think television may promote “authoritarian values” that paved the way for Donald Trump
The Sciences
How Mother Nature and a Pentagon Mathematician Created the World’s Largest Instrument
The Great Stalacpipe Organ operates by rhythmically striking 37 different stalactites scattered across the 3.5-acre cave
Weather
Alaska Accelerates Indoor Agriculture
With 700 new greenhouses, Alaska is growing its own produce as deep into winter as the sun keeps rising.
Culture
Readers Respond to the February 2017 Issue
Letters to the editor from the February 2017 issue of Scientific American
Climate Change
French Prez Invites Trumped Researchers
New French president, Emmanual Macron, reacted to the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement by inviting disaffected U.S. researchers to make France "a second homeland." ...
Culture
The Art of Science
A printmaker takes on the greatest scientific questions of the 21st century
The Art of Science
A printmaker takes on the greatest scientific questions of the 21st century
Policy
The Gestation Equation: Testing Babies' Genes
Journalist Bonnie Rochman talks about her new Scientific American /Farrar, Straus and Giroux book, The Gene Machine: How Genetic Technologies Are Changing the Way We Have Kids—and the Kids We Have ...
Conservation
Hunting Big Game: Why People Kill Animals for Fun
Thousands of people each year visit wild spaces across Africa with guns in hand. They’re playing a dangerous game
Public Health
Former CDC Head Warns of Threats Biological and Political
Tom Frieden, head of the CDC from 2009 to 2017, told graduating medical students that we face challenges from pathogens, and from politicians.
College Freshmen Are Less Religious Than Ever
Data from a nationwide survey shows students who list their affiliation as "none" has skyrocketed
Emmy Noether's Mathematics as Hotel Decor
A Chicago hotelier and self-confessed science nerd recruits a mathematician and artist to decorate his new property
Behavior
Special Report: The Psychology of Terrorism
Five experts share recent studies, classical research and professional experiences that shed light on defusing the threat of extremism
