The Little-Known Origin Story behind the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics
In 1949 physicist Chien-Shiung Wu devised an experiment that documented evidence of entanglement. Her findings have been hidden in plain sight for more than 70 years
Beethoven’s Cause of Death Revealed from Locks of Hair
DNA from locks of Beethoven’s hair reveals how the composer died, but his hearing loss remains a mystery
Scientists Decipher 57 Letters That Mary, Queen of Scots Wrote before Her Beheading
In newly deciphered letters written from captivity in the late 1500s, deposed queen of Scotland Mary Stuart complained about her health and tried to negotiate her release
50, 100 & 150 Years Ago: February 2023
Paranoid computer; Mount Everest not the highest
50, 100 & 150 Years Ago: January 2023
Hydrogen power; alcohol from moss
A Field at a Crossroads: Genetics and Racial Mythmaking
As their research is twisted to fuel racist claims, many geneticists are weighing the societal risks of their work
What Is a Dog Anyway?
Defining what a dog is is really tough, but the domestication of wolves might be the feat that set modern humans on the path to dominance
50, 100 & 150 Years Ago: December 2022
Psychic reward; desert sea
50, 100 & 150 Years Ago: November 2022
Tattooed corneas; sunlight on Venus
It’s Time to Fight Light Pollution
Learn about Viking women, doughnuts in the brain, nuclear weapons, and more in the October issue of Scientific American
50, 100 & 150 Years Ago: July 2022
Count women as workers; cement from sewage
50, 100 & 150 Years Ago: May 2022
Vesuvius erupts again; dragon bones