Cognition
Readers Respond to the June 2022 Issue
Letters to the editor for the June 2022 issue of Scientific American
Latest Stories
Biotech
Moth Wings Are Beautiful in Infrared Light
Drab brown moths’ infrared glittering could be key to tracking different species through the night
Psychology
How Gaslighting Manipulates Reality
Gaslighting isn’t just between people in a relationship—it involves social power, too
Neurology
How Squishy Math Is Revealing Doughnuts in the Brain
Topology, sometimes called rubber sheet geometry, is finding patterns in the brain, drugs and evolution
Archaeology
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
Pollution
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 Fuels
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
Natural Disasters
Hurricane Ian Grinds toward Florida with Deadly Winds and Walls of Water
Hurricane Ian poses catastrophic risks to the Gulf Coast of Florida as climate change exacerbates the storm’s effects
Public Health
The Government is Racing to Put Your Toilet Under Surveillance—For a Good Reason
A relatively new type of snooping—we will call it poop snooping—could help us all react more quickly to new coronavirus variants or to future pandemics.
Natural Disasters
How to Protect Puerto Rico’s Power Grid from Hurricanes
Energy experts say localized solar plants could strengthen Puerto Rico’s dangerously fragile grid
