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Researchers have discovered that cooling starchy foods—from pizza to rice—creates “resistant starch,” a carb that behaves like fiber and alters your blood sugar response

Observations with the SPHERE instrument on the European Southern Observatory's VLT revealed the presence of debris rings similar to structures in our Solar System. SPHERE found rings similar to the Kuiper Belt and the Main Asteroid Belt. Though individual asteroids and comets can't be imaged, these debris rings infer that other solar systems have architectures similar to ours.

Scientific American sits down with nature writer Robert Macfarlane to discuss his latest book—one of our top picks of 2025—and whether a river has rights

A scientist has identified a possible astronomical explanation for the Star of Bethlehem, as described in the Bible

An estimated 280 million metric tons of plastic waste will enter the air, water, soil, and human bodies every year by 2040, data shows

Astronomers have discovered that 3I/ATLAS is carrying methanol and other chemicals that were probably important in the origin of life

Astronomers have discovered that 3I/ATLAS is carrying methanol and other chemicals that were probably important in the origin of life

Researchers from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California monitor a research drone in the Dumont Dunes area of the Mojave Desert in September 2025 as part of a test campaign to develop navigation software to guide future rotorcraft on Mars.

NASA/JPL-Caltech

Researchers from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory monitor a research drone in this September 2025 photo. This flight occurred in Dumont Dunes, an area of the Mojave Desert, as part of a larger test campaign to develop navigation software that would guide future rotorcraft on Mars. The work was among 25 projects funded by NASA’s Mars Exploration Program this past year to push the limits of future technologies.

Whether it’s new navigation software, slope-scaling robotic scouts, or long-distance gliders, the technology being developed by the Mars Exploration Program envisions a future where robots can explore all on their own — or even help astronauts do their work.

Read more about the drone flight software test.

Text credit: NASA/Andrew Good

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA/JPL-Caltech

Researchers from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory monitor a research drone in this September 2025 photo. This flight occurred in Dumont Dunes, an area of the Mojave Desert, as part of a larger test campaign to develop navigation software that would guide future rotorcraft on Mars. The work was among 25 projects funded by NASA’s Mars Exploration Program this past year to push the limits of future technologies.

Whether it’s new navigation software, slope-scaling robotic scouts, or long-distance gliders, the technology being developed by the Mars Exploration Program envisions a future where robots can explore all on their own — or even help astronauts do their work.

Read more about the drone flight software test.

Text credit: NASA/Andrew Good

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Scientific American talks to the author of When the Moon Hits Your Eye, one of our best fiction picks for 2025

There is relatively little information on the long-term health effects of tattooing, but a couple of recent studies suggest the art form might trigger prolonged inflammation

There is relatively little information on the long-term health effects of tattooing, but a couple of recent studies suggest the art form might trigger prolonged inflammation

New guidance from the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel would do away with a decades-old universal birth dose recommendation for hepatitis B that helped cut infections by 99 percent in the U.S.

Hole in the Sky, by Daniel H. Wilson, is one of Scientific American’s best fiction picks of 2025. In the novel, aliens talk through an AI headset and land in the Cherokee Nation, while the military scrambles to contain and control the unknown

It was thought that complex cells couldn’t survive above a certain temperature, but a tiny amoeba has proven that assumption wrong

There is a widespread belief that altruism and equality drive social behaviour in traditional hunter-gatherer societies, but the truth is more surprising and complex

There is a widespread belief that altruism and equality drive social behaviour in traditional hunter-gatherer societies, but the truth is more surprising and complex

There is a widespread belief that altruism and equality drive social behaviour in traditional hunter-gatherer societies, but the truth is more surprising and complex

There is a widespread belief that altruism and equality drive social behaviour in traditional hunter-gatherer societies, but the truth is more surprising and complex