Public Health
We Need to Improve Indoor Air Quality: Here’s How and Why
Upgrading buildings’ ventilation, filtration and other factors would not only decrease COVID transmission but also improve health and cognitive performance in general
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Mental Health
Mass Shootings Leave Lasting Psychological Wounds
Tragedies such as the ones in Uvalde, Tex., and Buffalo, N.Y., can lead to major depression, PTSD and other lingering mental distress among survivors
Neuroscience
How the Brain ‘Constructs’ the Outside World
Neural activity probes your physical surroundings to select just the information needed to survive and flourish
Anthropology
This Amazonian Indigenous Group Has Lessons in Sustainable Living for All of Us
The Apiwtxa community has designed a way to live with, rather than off, nature
Medicine
A Deluge of New Drugs for COVID
Two years into the pandemic, the COVID-19 drugs pipeline is primed to pump out novel treatments—and fresh uses for familiar therapies.
Medicine
Mars Mission Could Bring Health Benefits on Earth
Flying to space takes its toll on the human body, and this has spurred new research on radiation and microgravity, as well as advances in remote medicine and telehealth, all of which have potential benefits for people on Earth...
Conservation
The Scientists Fighting for Parasite Conservation
Parasites play an outsize role in balancing ecosystems, and some species may be in danger
Paleontology
How Mammals Conquered the World after the Asteroid Apocalypse
They scurried in the shadows of dinosaurs for millions of years until a killer space rock created a new world of evolutionary opportunity
Sex & Gender
What the Science on Gender-Affirming Care for Transgender Kids Really Shows
Laws that ban gender-affirming treatment ignore the wealth of research demonstrating its benefits for trans people’s health
Particle Physics
God, Dark Matter and Falling Cats: A Conversation with 2022 Templeton Prize Winner Frank Wilczek
The physics Nobelist and author has not exactly found religion—but that doesn’t mean he’s stopped looking
Cosmology
New Record-Breaking Simulation Sheds Light on ‘Cosmic Dawn’
THESAN—the largest, most detailed computer model of the universe’s first billion years yet made—is helping set expectations for observations from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope...
Ecology
Innovative Fish Farms Aim to Feed the Planet, Save Jobs and Clean Up an Industry’s Dirty Reputation
From giant land-based salmon tanks to submersible shellfish platforms, experiments in aquaculture are dotting Maine’s coasts
Animals
What Birds Really Listen for in Birdsong (It’s Not What You Think)
Birds seem to pay more attention to fine acoustic details that humans cannot hear than to the melodies that captivate us
Particle Physics
Large Hadron Collider Seeks New Particles after Major Upgrade
Long-awaited boosts to the world’s most powerful collider could spur breakthroughs in the hunt for physics beyond the Standard Model
Neuroscience
Brain-Reading Devices Help Paralyzed People Move, Talk and Touch
Implants are becoming more sophisticated—and are attracting commercial interest
Quantum Computing
How to Fix Quantum Computing Bugs
The same physics that makes quantum computers powerful also makes them finicky. New techniques aim to correct errors faster than they can build up
Epidemiology
How to Judge COVID Risks and When to Wear a Mask
Scientific American asks experts in medicine, risk assessment and other fields how to balance the risks of COVID with the benefits of visiting public indoor spaces
Cosmology
Astronomers Gear Up to Grapple with the High-Tension Cosmos
A debate over conflicting measurements of key cosmological properties is set to shape the next decade of astronomy and astrophysics
Mental Health
The Pandemic Generation
Child development researchers are investigating whether the pandemic is shaping early brain development and behavior
Space Exploration
SpaceX’s Starship and NASA’s SLS Could Supercharge Space Science
Scientists are beginning to dream of how a new generation of super-heavy-lift rockets might enable revolutionary space telescopes and bigger, bolder interplanetary missions
