Social Sciences

Illustration of a child holding open a book and words on thin paper are flowing out of the book.

EducationDecember 1, 2023

Too Many Schools Are Misdiagnosing Dyslexia

Changing how dyslexia is diagnosed could help many more children learn to read

Sarah Carr

Teacher reads to a group of children sitting on the floor

EducationDecember 1, 2023

Are Children’s Books Improving Representation?

Racial and gender disparities persist in award-winning kids’ literature despite recent gains in representation

Jesse Greenspan

New Issue: Orbital Catastrophe Ahead? Read Now

Abstract illustration of a cartoon face sliced into multiple pieces.

ArtsDecember 1, 2023

Understanding Consciousness Is Key to Unlocking Secrets of the Universe

The quest to understand our physical universe may depend on investigating our own mind

Pitchaya Sudbanthad

A clay brick created between 883 and 859 B.C.E. bears an inscription in the extinct Akkadian language

ArchaeologyDecember 1, 2023

Scientists Sequence DNA from a 3,000-Year-Old Brick

A chunk of a Mesopotamian palace revealed genes from dozens of ancient plants

Susan Cosier

Illustration of a woman in a long dress near various chemical beakers.

ArtsDecember 1, 2023

Poem: ‘In Conversation with Elizabeth Fulhame’

Science in meter and verse

Meredi Ortega

HistoryDecember 1, 2023

December 2023: Science History from 50, 100 and 150 Years Ago

Black hole sun; the deepest mine

Mark Fischetti

Cover of the July/August 2023 issue of Scientific American.

CultureDecember 1, 2023

Readers Respond to the July/August 2023 Issue

Letters to the editors for the July/August 2023 issue of Scientific American

Photograph of the exterior of bombed-out Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City surrounded by scattered debris, tarps and tents

Health CareNovember 30, 2023

How the War in Gaza Has Devastated Hospitals

The Israel-Hamas war has disrupted hospitals’ access to electricity, fuel and medicine. A physician from Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières explains why health care is so vulnerable during war

Tanya Lewis

Megalithic site on hilltop with stones in foreground and centered tree looking into a valley.

ArchaeologyNovember 28, 2023

Experts Doubt Claims that World’s Oldest Pyramid Was Discovered in Indonesia

Massive buried structures at Gunung Padang in Indonesia have been described as much older than Egypt’s great pyramids in a new study, but some doubt they’re even human constructions

Dyani Lewis, Nature magazine

Stock image, gun shell casing at crime scene with numbered evidence flags on ground

OpinionNovember 27, 2023

Firearm Forensics Has Proven Reliable in the Courtroom. And in the Lab

Despite criticism, a slate of new scientific studies show that forensic firearms analysis is a reliable scientific discipline that the criminal justice system should trust

Raymond Valerio, Nelson Bunn

Billowy, multi-cloud spectacle spans the view with shifting hues from blues and translucent oranges on the left to vibrant orange, red, and brown on the right, featuring two bright stars with diffraction spikes.

CultureNovember 22, 2023

The Science to Be Grateful for This Year

A year of exciting ideas and research has given us much to be grateful for

Lori Youmshajekian

artist's concept of artificial intelligence represented by an illustration of a robot communicating via e-mail with human workers who are comparatively diminutive in scale

InequalityNovember 22, 2023

ChatGPT Replicates Gender Bias in Recommendation Letters

A new study has found that the use of AI tools such as ChatGPT in the workplace entrenches biased language based on gender

Chris Stokel-Walker

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