History

HistorySeptember 16, 2025

October 2025: Science History from 50, 100 and 150 Years Ago

Charming quarks; the first Batman signal

Mark Fischetti

An illustration of a woman scientist working at a table with tools for making doll house dioramas

Social SciencesSeptember 11, 2025

Meet the Mother of Modern Forensic Science Who Made Crime Scene Dioramas

How a determined socialite, inspired by true crime, helped professionalize the field of murder investigations

Katie Hafner, Marcy Thompson, The Lost Women of Science Initiative

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Book RecommendationsSeptember 2, 2025

7 Science Book Reviews from Scientific American’s Archives with Modern Recommendations

A collection of seven book reviews from our archives, each paired with a recently published book we recommend

Brianne Kane

Cover of the September 2025 issue of Scientific American against a gray backgroud

CultureAugust 19, 2025

180 Years of Standing Up for Science

Our anniversary celebration begins with an outstanding collection of stories about times that science itself has made a full about-face

David M. Ewalt

Loops on the sun are shown in a false-color picture

HistoryAugust 19, 2025

September 2025: Science History from 50, 100 and 150 Years Ago

Huge fish; spiritualist rebuke

Mark Fischetti

A robotic hand holds out an abacus-like word game in this illustration

GamingAugust 11, 2025

Wordology: Terms from the Archive

Explore the words of science past from Scientific American

Sarah Lewin Frasier

Group of suited scientists pose indoors; Einstein seated center front with Hans Bethe standing behind him.

OpinionAugust 1, 2025

U.S. Science and Scientific American Have Weathered Attacks Before and Won

Federal officials seized 3,000 copies of Scientific American in 1950 in a “red scare” era of attacks on science. The move backfired and offers lessons for today

Dan Vergano

An illustrated robotic hand gently releases a jigsaw puzzle piece

GamingJuly 30, 2025

Jigsaws: SciAm Cover Art

Explore Scientific American’s most fascinating magazine covers

Sarah Lewin Frasier

A figure on a balcony looks out over an illustrated cityscape, contemplating a giant question mark in the sky

GamingJuly 30, 2025

Science Quiz: Doing a 180

Put your science knowledge to the test with this week’s news quiz. Play now.

Allison Parshall

CultureJuly 30, 2025

Neurotic Cats, One-Eyed Aliens and Hypnosis for Liars Are among the Historical Gems Reported in Scientific American

Dive into the quirkiest and most fascinating tales from Scientific American’s 180-year archive

Mark Fischetti

Felisa Wolfe-Simon on NASA panel gestures mid-speech in 2010

MicrobiologyJuly 24, 2025

‘Arsenic Life’ Microbe Study Retracted after 15 Years of Controversy

A controversial arsenic microbe study unveiled 15 years ago has been retracted. The study’s authors are crying foul

Dan Vergano

A small blue sphere orbits a larger blue sphere on a purple and blue background, with "Science Quickly" written below.

HistoryJuly 21, 2025

Were the Wright Brothers First in Flight? Inside a 1925 Dispute

This episode of Science Quickly goes on an archival adventure in Scientific American’s July 1925 issue.

Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Alex Sugiura

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