Scientific American.com

The sixth test flight of SpaceX’s giant rocket ended with a fiery splashdown rather than a clean “chopstick” catch

Trumps retreat from climate agreements and tech funding will help China dominate global clean energy markets

Sweeping reorganization and more research scrutiny could be on the way for the U.S. National Institutes of Health

A social scientist looks at the portrait of U.S. voters, and voting, in the aftermath of the 2024 presidential election that put Trump into the White House

Researchers directed electric current to activate targeted facial muscles and then asked study participants how they felt

A study of births in New Jersey reveals a troubling disparity between unscheduled C-sections for Black people.

A major windstorm and an atmospheric river are set to unleash a “firehose” of precipitation from California to British Columbia

Forests absorb planet-warming pollution, but world leaders shouldn’t include them in plans to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, a new study recommends

Prominent vaccine skeptic RFK, Jr., is a proven menace to public health. But with a bird flu outbreak looming, he is poised to take a perch atop the federal public health enterprise

Play this crossword inspired by the December 2024 issue of Scientific American

The far side of the moon offers grounds for compromise between advocates and opponents of lunar development

The fossil-fuel industry argues that we can’t live without its deadly products. It is wrong

Science in meter and verse

U.N. statistics show progress toward the goal of gender equality but a long way left to go

Changing the ocean’s chemical and biological makeup could force it to pull vast amounts of planet-warming carbon from the atmosphere. But is that a line we want to cross?

Censoring what children read deprives them of reality and the chance to feed their curiosity and develop empathy

Intense health anxiety is a true mental illness and threatens lives. The good news is that it’s treatable

Oil rigs around the world are habitats for marine species. When they stop producing oil, should they be removed or allowed to stay?

Mathematicians have found a new kind of shape with connections to nature and art

How are these numbers organized?