We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.

— Oscar Wilde

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: 10 hours 17 min ago

AI and Data Centers Could Cut More Climate-Change-Causing Emissions Than They Create

Mon, 06/23/2025 - 2:00pm

Power-hungry AI and associated data centers could make the grid cleaner, eventually cutting more climate-change-causing emissions than they produce

Categories: Astronomy

Orcas’ Social Skin-Care Routine Uses Kelp as a Tool

Mon, 06/23/2025 - 11:00am

Massaging one another with kelp could help orcas keep their skin healthy

Categories: Astronomy

How H5N1 Went from an Illness in Wild Birds to a Global Pandemic Threat

Mon, 06/23/2025 - 6:00am

The first hints that a new strain of avian illness is emerging could be found on this beach on Delaware Bay, where migrating birds flock. Here’s what virus detectives who return there every year know right now.

Categories: Astronomy

Rubin Observatory’s First Images Just Unveiled the Universe as We’ve Never Seen It Before

Mon, 06/23/2025 - 12:01am

Astronomy fans can zoom in practically forever into the stunning first images from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory

Categories: Astronomy

Elon Musk Launches the Robotaxi—Can Tesla’s Cybercab Share the Road with America’s Myth of the Highway?

Sun, 06/22/2025 - 3:00pm

For more than a century, cars have meant freedom, escape and self-reinvention to Americans. Now Tesla’s forthcoming Cybercab makes us ask whether we can have the romance of the open road without actually driving it

Categories: Astronomy

First Near-Complete Denisovan Skull Reveals What This Ancient Human Cousin Looked Like

Fri, 06/20/2025 - 4:00pm

A Denisovan skull has been identified for the first time. The find was based on proteins and calcified dental plaque

Categories: Astronomy

Hurricane Hunter Flights Improve Hurricane Forecasts, But Trump Budget Cuts Could Threaten Them

Fri, 06/20/2025 - 2:00pm

NOAA’s Hurricane Hunter airplane missions significantly increase the accuracy of hurricane forecasts, but President Trump’s proposed budget cuts jeopardize the data-gathering efforts and other forecasting tools

Categories: Astronomy

How Does a Gravitational Slingshot Work?

Fri, 06/20/2025 - 6:45am

Spacecraft can get a significant boost by stealing energy from planets

Categories: Astronomy

What Is Testosterone Replacement Therapy, and Is It Safe?

Fri, 06/20/2025 - 6:00am

As more men turn to testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) for energy, mood and muscle, experts warn the risks are still not fully understood.

Categories: Astronomy

Here’s How Plastic Bag Bans Are Keeping Trash off Shorelines

Thu, 06/19/2025 - 2:00pm

Data from beach cleanups show that banning or taxing single-use plastic bags makes a difference in ecosystems

Categories: Astronomy

Humpback Whales Are Blowing ‘Bubble Rings’ at Boats. Are They Trying to Communicate?

Thu, 06/19/2025 - 1:30pm

Researchers bring a SETI approach to the question of what—if anything—humpbacks’ underwater smoke rings might be trying to “say”

Categories: Astronomy

Gaia, Europe’s Galactic Cartographer, Is Gone But Not Forgotten

Thu, 06/19/2025 - 1:15pm

Gaia, Europe’s Milky Way–mapping spacecraft, shut down earlier this year. It was arguably the most important—and most overlooked—astronomy project of the 21st century

Categories: Astronomy

SpaceX’s Starship Explodes in Texas During Preflight Testing

Thu, 06/19/2025 - 12:30pm

The latest catastrophic explosion of a Starship upper stage is a significant setback for SpaceX

Categories: Astronomy

The Weather Expert Who Answered the $64,000 Question

Thu, 06/19/2025 - 11:00am

As the first trained Black TV meteorologist, June Bacon-Bercey always worked to help women and people of color to follow in her footsteps

Categories: Astronomy

Supreme Court Skrmetti Decision Permits Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Children

Wed, 06/18/2025 - 3:00pm

The Supreme Court has decided to uphold a state ban on gender-affirming care for minors in U.S. v. Skrmetti

Categories: Astronomy

The Massive Ordnance Penetrator Bomb Israel Wants to Destroy Iran’s Fordo Nuclear Facility

Wed, 06/18/2025 - 2:40pm

American military engineers designed the GBU-57/B bomb to devastate deeply buried bunkers without radioactive fallout. It’s the only nonnuclear weapon that can reach Iran’s hardest target

Categories: Astronomy

When Wildfire Smoke Arrived from Canada, Federal Safety Experts Were Gone

Wed, 06/18/2025 - 12:00pm

Health specialists were put on leave, and a report on how to protect 20 million workers from wildfire smoke has stalled

Categories: Astronomy

When Baboon Dads Stick Around, Their Daughters Live Longer

Wed, 06/18/2025 - 10:00am

New research shows father-daughter relationships have a positive influence on female baboons’ lives—when the dads stick around

Categories: Astronomy

Mysterious Link between Earth’s Magnetism and Oxygen Baffles Scientists

Wed, 06/18/2025 - 8:00am

The strength of Earth’s magnetic field and the amount of oxygen in its atmosphere seem to be correlated—and scientists want to know why

Categories: Astronomy

Why Can Beef Be Cooked Rare but Chicken Can’t?

Wed, 06/18/2025 - 6:45am

Food microbiologists explain how to ensure different proteins, such as beef, chicken and pork, are prepared safely

Categories: Astronomy