Scientific American Magazine

A gold-standard clinical trial provides evidence that diet, exercise and an active social life can help prevent cognitive decline

New techniques reveal how supermassive black holes shred entire stars

By reprogramming DNA inside harmful microbes, biologists are turning them into patient-saving drugs

Synthetic biology offers unusual rewards and risks

Studies of fishes that inhabit toxic sulfide springs reveal mechanisms of natural selection

Data scientists are studying how information spreading online influences our social dynamics and what, if anything, can be done to smooth polarization

More communities are emerging as hotspots for drinking water tainted with PFCs, but scientists and regulators are struggling to determine how much is unsafe

Recent insights into a long-ago accident show just how deadly bioweapons can be