Greater Glory: Why Scott Let Amundsen Win the Race to the South Pole
In the race to the South Pole, explorer Robert F. Scott refused to sacrifice his ambitious science agenda
Features
A Nobel Celebration
As Nobel Prize winners gather this month to share their wisdom with younger researchers, Scientific American recalls some of the articles that Nobel laureates have published in our pages...
The Smartest Bacteria on Earth
One species of soil microbe makes unusually wise communal decisions
When Will Scientists Grow Meat in a Petri Dish?
A handful of scientists aim to satisfy the world's growing appetite for steak without wrecking the planet. The first step: grab a petri dish
Living in a Quantum World
Quantum mechanics is not just about teeny particles. It applies to things of all sizes: birds, plants, maybe even people
The Tasmanian Devil's Cancer: Could Contagious Tumors Affect Humans?
A contagious tumor threatens to wipe out the famous Tasmanian devil. Could similarly "catching" cancers arise in humans, too?
Will Future Nuclear Power Reactors Be Safer?
The surprising accident at Fukushima puts the spotlight on a new generation of U.S. nuclear reactors. Are they safe enough?
A Test for Consciousness
How will we know when we've built a sentient computer? By making it solve a simple puzzle
"I Stick to Science": A Climate Researcher's Unexpected Congressional Testimony
Why Richard A. Muller wouldn't tell House climate skeptics what they wanted to hear
Departments
Coming Clean about Nuclear Power
Dining and Dancing
100 Years Ago: Science of the Unfit
- From the Editor
Quantum Leap
- Letters
Readers Respond to "How to Fix the Obesity Crisis" and Other Articles
- Advances
Material Poet
No X-aggeration: How Companies Can Gather Information and Still Preserve Privacy
A Batter for a Batter: Heat Raises Odds of Being Hit by Pitch
Will the Internet Stop on June 8?
How Brains Bounce Back from Physical Damage
Join the F***ing Club: Why Swearwords Have Taken over Billboard's Top 10 Chart
Treating Tourette's: Histamine Gene May Be Behind Some Tic Disorders
Spies Inside: Ultrasmall Electrodes Go Anywhere
Hack My Ride: Cyber Attack Risk on Car Computers
What Is It? Fraying Matter
A Mystery Wrapped in a Crystal
The Smallest Hitchhikers
Off the Tree, Ready to Eat
Quotable
News Scans
- Forum
An Epidemic of False Claims
- The Science of Health
Shades of Grief: When Does Mourning Become a Mental Illness?
- TechnoFiles
Critical Mass: How to Maintain the Power of Online Reviews
- Recommended
Recommended: Among Giants: A Life with Whales
- Graphic Science
Climate Change Increases Threat of Fire to U.S. West
