How Is the Declaration of Independence Preserved?
The National Archives and Records Administration uses science and technology to keep one of America's most important historic documents safe.
"news"
Celebrate Tau Day with an Extra Slice of Pi
To understand tau, you need to understand pi. Watch how mathematicians from Archimedes on have wrapped their heads around the math of circles.
How Does the Color of a Glass Bottle Affect the Beer Inside?
Light triggers chemical reactions that make beer taste like skunk spray and onions.
How Did Hawaii Form?
The volcanic island chain was born when the Pacific tectonic plate drifted over a hotspot in Earth’s mantle.
How Does Google Know Everything about Me?
You may wonder how Google knows what you’re typing, where you are or even what you’re thinking—they use your data to do it all.
Lesser Prairie Chickens Show Greater Dance Moves in the Spring
Prairies become dance floors each spring as male birds vie for female attention."Like No One is Watching” was first published on bioGraphic © 2018 California Academy of Sciences.
How Do Earthquake-Warning Systems Work?
Earthquake-warning systems save lives by detecting the first signs of shaking.
An Agile Robotic Fish Swims into New Waters
For a robot to help scientists truly understand marine life it must engage underwater environments without disturbing them. Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers report in Science Robotics this week their agile, undulating soft robotic fish does just that, having observed and recorded aquatic life along coral reefs in the Pacific Ocean at depths of up to 18 meters. A product of MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), the robot exchanges information with human divers via an acoustic communication modem and propels itself using a motor-powered water pump rather than more disruptive and less agile water jets or propellers that chase away the fish researchers want to study.
Scaly Plastic Snakeskins Inch Immobile Robots Forward
These stretchy skins help robots move across rough surfaces, and potentially promote exploration and environmental monitoring.
Adolescent Risk-Takers: The Power of Peers
Teenagers are often thought of as reckless risk-takers. Nature Video asks a neuroscientist and a group of adolescents what's really behind risky behaviour.This video was reproduced with permission and was first published on February 21, 2018. It is a Nature Video production.
What Is the Bystander Effect?
If you suffer a heart attack in a crowd, you would be less likely to get help than if there were only one or two people around you.
Why Do Curling Stones Curl?
Curling at the highest level requires careful calculations and a little finesse with physics.
Anatomy of a Hunt: Speed, Strategy and Survival
In the race for survival, predators can achieve impressive strengths and speeds—but research reveals that when it comes to strategy, their prey may have the upper hand.This video was reproduced with permission and was first published on January 24, 2018. It is a Nature Video production.
New Volcano Survey Accounts for Materials Ejected from a Volcano
Researchers used autonomous and remotely operated underwater vehicles to survey the Havre volcano in the Pacific Ocean, leading to a new discovery about submarine volcano deposits.
Looking Back at the Year in Science
Our editors recap some of the most notable science stories of 2017. Check out https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-top-10-science-stories-of-2017/
Spincredible Dreidel Tips and Tricks
Become a dreidel “spinologist” and compete for the longest time of spin.
Snap, Crackle, Whop--How to Win the Wishbone
Don’t crack under pressure! Explore the scientific—and sometimes sleazy—secrets to win a wish at this year’s Thanksgiving wishbone pull.
Using CRISPR to Do More Than Cut
Using the CRISPR–Cas9 system, scientists can do much more than gene editing—they can boost gene transcription or use fluorescent proteins to paint and track a chromosome. In this Nature Video animation, several innovative uses for CRISPR are outlined and explained. This video was reproduced with permission and was first published on October 31, 2017. It is a Nature Video production.
New Frizzy-Haired Orangutan Species
An isolated group of orangutans in Sumatra is the first new great ape species described since the 1920s, and could be the most critically endangered.