Personally, I don't think there's intelligent life on other planets. Why should other planets be any different from this one?

— Bob Monkhouse

Scientific American.com

Syndicate content
Scientific American is the essential guide to the most awe-inspiring advances in science and technology, explaining how they change our understanding of the world and shape our lives.
Updated: 15 hours 57 min ago

Europe’s deadly spring heat wave is obliterating temperature records

Fri, 05/29/2026 - 9:00am

Unseasonably hot weather in Europe has already claimed at least 18 lives. And history shows more are likely on the way

Categories: Astronomy

How big can a galaxy get?

Fri, 05/29/2026 - 6:45am

Deep surveys of the sky have turned up galaxies vastly larger than our own. Are there even bigger ones yet to be seen?

Categories: Astronomy

How smartphones and AI are reshaping our bodies and minds

Fri, 05/29/2026 - 6:00am

A new look at how everything from handwriting to AI quietly reshapes our bodies, habits and sense of connection

Categories: Astronomy

White House proposes new rules giving political appointees final approval on research grants

Thu, 05/28/2026 - 3:30pm

These proposed Office of Management and Budget regulations would render the federal research grant review process opaque

Categories: Astronomy

A new study says homing pigeon livers act like compasses. Other experts aren’t so sure

Thu, 05/28/2026 - 2:00pm

How animals use Earth’s magnetic field to navigate is one of biology’s biggest unsolved mysteries. This study proposes a totally new source for the sixth sense

Categories: Astronomy

San Antonio Spurs star ‘Wemby’ is rocking the NBA playoffs. Science can help explain why

Thu, 05/28/2026 - 1:00pm

Wemby’s height gives him an advantage in blocking and rebounding, but how does the tallest player in the NBA keep hitting all those threes?

Categories: Astronomy

Back-to-back chemical accidents raise alarm over EPA push to reduce oversight

Thu, 05/28/2026 - 1:00pm

A near-miss incident and a deadly chemical accident in a single week have affected thousands and drawn scrutiny to federal rules around risk management at chemical plants

Categories: Astronomy

Kamala Sohonie: The biochemist who wanted to feed a nation

Thu, 05/28/2026 - 12:00pm

Biochemist Kamala Baghvat, later known as Kamala Sohonie, forced open the doors of India’s male-only laboratories and used her knowledge to help feed a nation

Categories: Astronomy

Are the roots of consciousness hidden in the ancient deep brain?

Thu, 05/28/2026 - 11:00am

Some neuroscientists argue that the roots of experience lie deep inside the brain. If they’re right, the consciousness club will get a lot bigger

Categories: Astronomy

Trump plan to give start-ups plutonium harvested from Cold War–era nuclear weapons is risky, experts say

Thu, 05/28/2026 - 10:30am

Weapons-grade plutonium can fuel nuclear reactors known as mixed oxide reactors, but none of these exist in the U.S.

Categories: Astronomy

The ‘age of gravitational astronomy’ is here

Thu, 05/28/2026 - 5:00am

A record-setting collection of precisely measured gravitational waves reveals new information about how black holes behave and evolve

Categories: Astronomy