Scientific American.com

On Thursday Knicks fans are flocking to Manhattan for a ticker-tape parade. But where did ticker tape even come from?

Tropical Storm Arthur is the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season and will bring heavy rains and potential flash flooding to the Southeast

Why the human brain can't fathom what it means to be a trillionaire

Graves of hunter-gatherers in Siberia point to a deadly disease outbreak dating to some 5,500 years ago, a new DNA analysis finds

A galaxy appears to be missing the invisible substance thought to hold such objects together, further challenging long-held assumptions about how galaxies form

Galapagos sharks have been spotted scrubbing off parasites with help from manta rays

Neuroscientist Kauê M. Costa talks about surprising results that are changing how we think dopamine works and how the brain really learns

The Trump administration is mulling new rules that would give political appointees final say on research grants

Novo Nordisk said this security incident affected patient data, including health information and birth year

Some mathematicians have predicted when humanity’s downfall might occur—though the circumstances are unspecified

This sparkling galaxy is home to a set of supernova remnants that showed variable brightnesses over 14 years of data

Early research suggests that some mental health conditions could stem from metabolic disorders. If so, the findings could change how we treat mental illness

Fable 5 was built to help with advanced cybersecurity work. Its sudden shutdown highlights a dilemma at the heart of AI security: the same tools can aid both defenders and attackers

Scientists have modeled the potential size of this current outbreak, which some experts think could become one of the worst Ebola epidemics on record

Find the lengths of the sides of the square in this math puzzle

This young researcher’s unlikely journey into academia will change the way you think about science, failure and belonging

In his final interview, the “swashbuckling” geneticist pointed the way for science

Understanding the behavior of supermassive black holes

A meditation on life and the von Neumann–Wigner interpretation of quantum mechanics

Play this crossword inspired by the July/August 2026 issue of Scientific American