The Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2016
Ten technologies that showcase the power of innovation to improve lives, transform industries and safeguard our planet
In-Depth Reports
The Discovery of Gravitational Waves
All you need to know about the ripples in spacetime detected by LIGO
The Science of Gun Violence and Gun Control in the U.S.
Gun-control laws and ownership restrictions are changing but clearly remain insufficient to bring our rates of gun deaths down to levels found in nearly all other developed countries
The Future of Medicine 2016
Beyond chemotherapy, radiation and surgery, doctors are uncovering new ways to harness the power of the patient’s immune system to combat cancer
Combating Terrorism with Science
From the psychology of violent extremism to cracking encrypted communications, counterterrorism efforts rely on the latest scientific research
Love in the Time of Science
What we're learning about the rules of attraction, from online dating to maintaing a healthy marriage
The Surge of Zika Virus
The mosquito-borne disease is spreading across the globe and has been linked to alarming birth defects and an autoimmune disease that can cause paralysis. Scientific American has been tracking the dengue-like illness since fall 2015...
Syria's Climate Refugees
Pushed out of their homeland by war and drought, Syrians seek a better future abroad
Customized Human Genes: New Promises and Perils
This week, at an international summit in Washington D.C., scientists debated the use of easy new ways to alter human DNA, which could cure diseases but also literally change humanity. Scientific American reports from the front lines of the debate...
Do or Die: The Global Climate Summit in Paris
World leaders at the U.N. climate conference are trying for the 21st time to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Here's how they can finally reach meaningful agreements
World Changing Ideas 2015
10 big advances that will improve life, transform computing and maybe even save the planet
2016 Breakthrough Prize Winners
Six $3-million prizes awarded to advances in neutrino particle physics, topology, optogenetics and more
State of the World's Science 2015
What happens when you put the life of the mind and the problems of a global civilization in a jar and shake it? The powerful and sometimes uneasy alliance between science and the society it serves is the theme of this year's special report on the “State of the World's Science”...
Celebrating 170 Years of Scientific American
From world-changing inventions to discoveries that shaped our understanding the natural world, a look back at the evolution of the oldest continuously published magazine in the U.S.
How We Can Save Our Water
Rising population and climate change threatens the world’s supply of freshwater. Here are some possible solutions
Hurricane Katrina's Devastating Lessons
In the 10 years since this deadly storm, which also came in as one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history, the nation’s leaders and engineers still struggle to upgrade our preparedness ...
General Relativity at 100
How relativity changed the rules of our reality
How Assistive Technologies Enable People with Disabilities
The emergence of mobile “assistive” technologies, influenced heavily by the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 25 years ago, marks a major step forward for people with disabilities, unlocking unprecedented new possibilities for communication, navigation and independence...
The Crisis of Antibiotic Resistance
Bacteria are finally overrunning our last defenses. Can we stop them?
A Guide to the Pluto Flyby Success
NASA’s New Horizons’ close approach to the last of the original set of nine planets in our solar system is yielding a bounty of surprising planetary science
Building the 21st-Century Learner
Science is transforming how we teach our children and nurture our scientific talent
The Disturbing Science of Incarceration in the U.S.
Nearly one in 100 U.S. adults is in prison or jail, often as a result of questionable or biased convictions and subject to living (and dying) under conditions that research reveals as extremely inhumane...
Hubble's Quarter Century
Our In-Depth Report commemorates the Hubble Space Telescope's unprecedented 25 years in orbit
Train Tragedies and Transformations
Derailments, fires and crashes continue as the U.S.’s rail infrastructure decays and technology solutions lie fallow
A Guide to Earthquakes
What causes tremors? What makes them stop? Can they be predicted? Are our buildings as safe as they can be?
