BiologyNovember 1, 2020
Earthshaking Signature ‘Brawn Songs’ and Movement, Developed over Time, Identify Seals
Male elephant seals perfect unique competitive calls as they age
The Sciences
PolicyNovember 1, 2020
Readers Respond to the July 2020 Issue
Letters to the editor from the July 2020 issue of Scientific American
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BiologyNovember 1, 2020
Echolocation Drains Bats Traveling through Noise
Bats expend more energy navigating in loud conditions
CultureNovember 1, 2020
Poem: The Noble Gases
Science in meter and verse
Public HealthNovember 1, 2020
Solving the Mysteries of Ancient Plagues
DNA from bacteria and viruses, recovered from human remains, shows how pathogens helped to topple empires and change civilizations
PolicyNovember 1, 2020
50, 100 & 150 Years Ago: November 2020
Nuclear future, data on hurricanes, and machines replace muscle on the farm
BiologyNovember 1, 2020
Storm-Surfing Parasites Spread Widely
Major hurricanes scramble marine creature populations
PolicyNovember 1, 2020
Scientists Failed to Use Common Sense Early in the Pandemic
The WHO’s initial advice not to wear masks in the fight to contain COVID sowed dangerous confusion
BehaviorNovember 1, 2020
Resist Misinformation, Watch Birds and Remember Plagues
Our November issue features space wars, a mysterious disorder of mind and brain, and past pandemics
OpinionOctober 31, 2020
How Geologists Reveal the Secrets of the Solar System
Rocks that have fallen to Earth or that have been brought here deliberately are practically the only way we can study planets and asteroids up close
Space & PhysicsOctober 31, 2020
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Probe Successfully Stows Space-Rock Sample
The spacecraft will deliver the pristine material from asteroid Bennu back to Earth in 2023
EnergyOctober 30, 2020
Election Science Stakes: Energy
Scientific American senior editor Mark Fischetti and associate editor Andrea Thompson talk about this election and the future of U.S. energy research and policy.