Videos

The Countdown is a biweekly video podcast highlighting the top space news stories from the past two weeks. In this week's episode: Voyager hits a milestone, farming on the ISS, the peanut in our galaxy, LADEE launches and shock synthesis.

In the 1970s, the Soviet Union turned its attention to Venus and managed to take the first pictures on the surface of another world with the Venera landers.

At the heart of quantum mechanics is a mysterious equation known as the wave function. It helps explain the behavior of elementary particles, but also challenges the notion that there's only one reality. SA editor Michael Moyer explains.

With sensitive instruments and some creative translations, astronomers can derive the sounds of a silent universe. Scientific American contributor Sophie Bushwick explains.

A study in the journal Science reveals that a juvenile form of the insect Issus Coleoptratus evolved gears to help with jumping. This is the first time working gears have been observed in an animal species.

The Countdown is a biweekly video podcast highlighting the top space news stories from the past two weeks. In this episode: Martian Ancestors?, China Moon Landing, Greenland's Grand Canyon, ISS Printer and Tabletop Big Bang.

Vaccinating most of a population can provide fringe benefits for all. Why do your neighbor’s vaccinations help make you safer from infection? SA’s Dina Fine Maron takes a look at herd immunity and explains how it helps keep outbreaks at bay.

The Countdown is a biweekly show highlighting the top space new stories. In this episode: Mars' Movie, Reusable Rocket, Name Your Exoplanet, Russian Meteor Haze and Star Music.

Invasive species can be a major pest, but some people see them as an untapped food resource. Go on assignment with Scientific American editor Michael Moyer as he forages for his next meal with a chef who makes the detestable delectable.

Typical calorie counts ignore how we cook and process food, how gut bacteria interact with food and the overall complexity of human digestion. Scientific American editor Ferris Jabr explains.

Although the United States roved the Moon first on manned missions, the Soviet Union was the first nation to robotically rove around the lunar surface with the twin Lunokhod rovers in the early 1970s.

The Countdown is a biweekly video show highlighting the top space news stories. In this special episode, we countdown five places most likely to harbor alien life forms.