Social Sciences

Science in meter and verse

Letters to the editors for the September 2023 issue of Scientific American

As 2023 comes to a close, we look back at a year of poignant commentary on space, politics, climate, artificial intelligence, nuclear weapons, and health—and the ways we explore the human experience

Scientific American’s TikTok delivers piping-hot science in bite-sized videos

Segregation has given rise to a distinct African American English. Speech professionals must recognize it to avoid misdiagnosing Black children and wasting valuable educational resources

Some of our favorite stories this year are best told visually

The death of a grandparent may be a rite of passage, but it is not harmless for many boys, particularly boys of color. Losing a grandparent in childhood corresponds with lower reading, math and verbal skills among boys at a critical age

Gifts play an important role in human relationships and are about more than consumerism

More people are using doorbell cameras and sharing the footage with the police, but there are few data showing their effectiveness

Building codes that don’t fully account for climate change are “one of the most significant factors” in increasing disaster risk, a federal report says

Economists dive into the financial impact of Christmas trees—real and artificial alike—on the U.S.

Burials holding mummies with false heads have been discovered from the Wari Empire in Peru