Policy16741 articles archived since 1845

What Long-Awaited Disaster Funding Does—and Does Not—Include

The Department of Defense was the biggest benefactor, with money going to rebuild bases

Congress Revives Ban on Altering the DNA of Human Embryos Used for Pregnancies

Some scientists had called for lifting the ban to allow the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to evaluate the new technologies

Era of the Body Snatchers

In New York in the early 1900s, race and poverty intersected to help determine whose cadavers ended up on med students’ dissecting tables

As Renewable Energy Subsidies Expire, Experts Advocate Tax Credits

The credits could target all low-carbon electricity generation instead of solely wind and solar

Virtual Assistants Are Getting Smarter All the Time. Can We Trust Them with Our Data?

Virtual assistants are getting smarter. Let's think about how that will play out

We Need More Women Working in the Energy Sector

Diversity leads to innovation, which is crucial to fight climate change

Readers Respond to the February 2019 Issue

Letters to the editor from the February 2019 issue of Scientific American

Rubella Vaccines Succeed; Alcock and Brown Fly across the Atlantic

Innovation and discovery as chronicled in Scientific American

Understanding through Time

Bag Bans Won’t Solve the Plastic Pollution Problem

Policies need to address a deeper, more systemic failure of global recycling systems 

Online Voting Seems like a Great Idea—Until You Look Closer

Tech experts can’t guarantee it’s safe

In Case You Missed It

Top news from around the world

We Can’t Count on Missile Defense to Defeat Incoming Nukes

Missiles designed to destroy incoming nuclear warheads fail frequently in tests and could increase global risk of mass destruction

People of Color Breathe More Than Their Share of Polluted Air

Black and Hispanic people in the U.S. are exposed to more emissions than whites and consume less from the industries responsible

At First-Ever Public Hearing on CBD, FDA and Advocates Try to Blaze Trail to Regulatory Compromise

Agency officials press sometimes confused stakeholders for more data. Is it possible to define a “more effective CBD cosmetic?”

Don’t Panic about Rare Earth Elements

The materials used in iPhones and Tesla cars need not become a long-term casualty of a U.S.-China trade war

Trump Administration to Issue First Emissions Limits for Planes

Greenhouse gas contributions from air travel are expected to rapidly increase in the near future

The Trump Administration Has Attacked Science 100 Times ... and Counting

That’s more than any administration since the Union of Concerned Scientists started tracking

The Case for Collaborative Care

It produces better patient outcomes. Here’s why it works and how it can be effectively deployed

Mystery Solved: Warming Superpollutant Tracked to China

Chinese firms violated international law by using a banned, potent greenhouse gas in insulation manufacturing