Scientific American Magazine

Sustainability proves surprisingly problematic in the quest to reconcile conservation with the production of tropical timber

What happens to the information in matter destroyed by a black hole? Searching for that answer, physicists are groping toward a quantum theory of gravity

Africa is the birthplace of humanity. But how many human species evolved there? And when did they emigrate?

An innovative technique that quickly produces large numbers of structurally related compounds is changing the way drugs are discovered

An understanding of how tectonic, erosional and climatic forces interact to shape mountains permits clearer insights into the earth's history

These microbes thrive under conditions that would kill other creatures. The molecules that enable extremophiles to prosper are becoming useful to industry

Life's little annoyances are not as random as they seem: the awful truth is that the universe is against you

Discovery of a long-lost novel reveals that, from the start, the father of science fiction was gravely concerned with the dangers of technology