Space & Physics
How to Avoid a Cosmic Catastrophe
An interstellar treaty with other advanced civilizations could stave off death by domain wall
Opinion
Biology
Can a Cell Make Decisions?
A series of experiments shows, remarkably, that it just might
Public Health
Coronavirus News Roundup: May 8–May 21
Pandemic highlights for the past two weeks
Conservation
Cuba’s Economic Isolation Protected Its Environment
The island nation has fewer nonnative plants than other Caribbean islands
Fitness
The Global Iron-Deficiency Crisis
Some two billion people don’t get enough of this essential mineral in their diet
Public Health
How Scientific American’s Staff Is Reacting to the CDC’s New Mask Guidance
We asked our vaccinated colleagues whether they planned on keeping their masks on or not—and why
Behavior
The Cause of America’s Post-Truth Predicament
People have been manipulated to think that beliefs needn’t change in response to evidence, making us more susceptible to conspiracy theories, science denial and extremism
Public Health
Why Monoclonal Antibody COVID Therapies Have Not Lived Up to Expectations
The drugs used to treat Donald Trump have not been widely administered to other patients, but they still have a role to play
Policy
When Scientific Orthodoxy Resembles Religious Dogma
Those who refuse to consider an unconventional idea in science are disturbingly similar to those who refused to look through Galileo’s telescope
Climate Change
What I Learned in Space about the Climate Emergency
It’s the planet’s greatest threat, and fighting it should be our 21st-century moonshot
