Latest Stories

See How a Parasite Travels from Tiny Crustacean to Fish to Bird

A tiny bug manipulates the behavior of its hosts to ensure its unlikely life cycle

Readers Respond to the June 2022 Issue

Letters to the editor for the June 2022 issue of Scientific American

Moth Wings Are Beautiful in Infrared Light

Drab brown moths’ infrared glittering could be key to tracking different species through the night

How Gaslighting Manipulates Reality

Gaslighting isn’t just between people in a relationship—it involves social power, too

How Squishy Math Is Revealing Doughnuts in the Brain

Topology, sometimes called rubber sheet geometry, is finding patterns in the brain, drugs and evolution

Viking Textiles Show Women Had Tremendous Power

Cloth from Viking and medieval archaeological sites shows that women literally made the money in the North Atlantic

It’s Time to Fight Light Pollution

Learn about Viking women, doughnuts in the brain, nuclear weapons, and more in the October issue of Scientific American

Fossil-Fuel Money Will Undermine Stanford’s New Sustainability School

Stanford University’s Doerr School of Sustainability will take energy industry donations, which will warp priorities and research agendas

For 'The First Lady of Engineering,' Freedom Meant Facing Down Racism and Sexism ... And Breaking Her Own Rules

Yvonne Y. Clark, known as Y.Y. throughout her career, had a lifetime of groundbreaking achievements as a Black female mechanical engineer. In the second episode of the newest season of the  Lost Women of Science podcast, we see Y.Y.'s true grit as she fights for recognition and a place at the science table...

Truth under Attack