Videos

A new study shows joining “jerks” provides unexpected benefits for bonobos.

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/

Become a dreidel “spinologist” and compete for the longest time of spin.

These mammals cannot eat a lot of food when they are on their own, and spend months integrating into new groups before gaining weight.

This year’s Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics was awarded to the team behind NASA’s Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe, or WMAP, a space telescope that launched in 2001 to map the cosmic microwave background—the earliest, oldest light we can detect from the universe’s infancy. The WMAP team will split the $3 million award, with its leaders receiving the largest shares. One of those leaders, WMAP’s chief theorist David Spergel, sat down to speak with Scientific American about WMAP’s science and its legacy. 

Axolotls are used to study cancer development and organ regeneration, but their numbers in the wild are dwindling. Conserving wild salamanders could be vital for research—and the future of this special species. 

This video was reproduced with permission and was first published on November 24, 2017. It is a Nature Video production.

Don’t crack under pressure! Explore the scientific—and sometimes sleazy—secrets to win a wish at this year’s Thanksgiving wishbone pull.

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.

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. 

Squashing the competition at a giant pumpkin weigh-off requires patience, persistence—and a little bit of luck. ​

Astrophysicists searching for gravitational waves have finally learned what happens when you crash two neutron stars together--and it's very, very shiny.

Hidden cameras caught these cats sharing prey with their neighbors, suggesting pumas have a more complex society than previously believed.