"When beggars die, there are no comets seen;
The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes."

— William Shakespeare
Julius Cæsar

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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: 8 hours 25 min ago

Try These Logic Puzzles from the International Logic Olympiad

Mon, 07/21/2025 - 1:30pm

In only its second year, the International Logic Olympiad is already booming as logic becomes more and more crucial in our ever changing world

Categories: Astronomy

Humidity from Corn Sweat Intensifies Extreme Heat Wave in U.S. Midwest

Mon, 07/21/2025 - 11:55am

Humid heat is blanketing the eastern U.S. this week, exacerbated by “corn sweat” in the Midwest

Categories: Astronomy

Could AI Have Prevented SkyWest Airliner’s Near Collision with a B-52 Bomber?

Mon, 07/21/2025 - 11:53am

A SkyWest pilot’s last-second decision could have prevented a collision that air-traffic controllers may not have foreseen

Categories: Astronomy

How Humility Can Restore Trust in Expertise

Mon, 07/21/2025 - 10:00am

Acknowledging the limits of one’s own knowledge could be as important a signal of expertise as credentials and confidence

Categories: Astronomy

Landmark Langlands Proof Advances Grand Unified Theory of Math

Mon, 07/21/2025 - 8:00am

The Langlands program has inspired and befuddled mathematicians for more than 50 years. A major advance has now opened up new worlds for them to explore

Categories: Astronomy

Who Was First in Flight? This 1925 Scientific American Piece Dives into a Museum Disagreement

Mon, 07/21/2025 - 6:00am

This episode of Science Quickly goes on an archival adventure in Scientific American’s July 1925 issue.

Categories: Astronomy

Tests that AIs Often Fail and Humans Ace Could Pave the Way for Artificial General Intelligence

Fri, 07/18/2025 - 1:00pm

Discover why some puzzles stump supersmart AIs but are easy for humans, what this reveals about the quest for true artificial general intelligence—and why video games are the next frontier

Categories: Astronomy

Can U.S. Math Research Survive NSF Funding Cuts?

Fri, 07/18/2025 - 10:30am

A 72 percent reduction in federal funding is devastating to math research. The American Mathematical Society is offering $1 million in backstop grants—but it’s likely not enough

Categories: Astronomy

This Number System Beats Binary, But Most Computers Can’t Use It

Fri, 07/18/2025 - 8:00am

Why do computers only work with the numbers 0 and 1? There are machines that process three digits with more efficiency than you might expect

Categories: Astronomy

Can You Drink Saturn’s Rings?

Fri, 07/18/2025 - 6:45am

It’s certainly possible to consume water sourced from the icy rings of Saturn, but doing so safely may require extra steps

Categories: Astronomy

Dropout.tv’s Brennan Lee Mulligan Brings Dungeons and Dragons to the Masses

Fri, 07/18/2025 - 6:00am

Dropout.tv’s Brennan Lee Mulligan talks about the emotional and cultural importance of Dungeons and Dragons.

Categories: Astronomy

What Is Chronic Venous Insufficiency, Trump’s Blood Vessel Condition?

Thu, 07/17/2025 - 5:18pm

After photographs showed President Donald Trump with swollen ankles and bruised hands, the White House revealed he has chronic venous insufficiency—a blood vessel disease that affects circulation in the legs

Categories: Astronomy

New Thermal Hole Opens at Yellowstone National Park

Thu, 07/17/2025 - 4:40pm

The park’s newest hydrothermal feature has an otherworldly milky texture from dissolved silica

Categories: Astronomy

Three-Person Mitochondrial IVF Leads to Eight Healthy Births

Thu, 07/17/2025 - 3:00pm

Long-awaited results of a three-person IVF technique suggest that mitochondrial donation can prevent babies from inheriting diseases caused by mutant mitochondria

Categories: Astronomy

Brain Activity Patterns Reveal Why Waking Up from Sleep Can Be So Difficult

Thu, 07/17/2025 - 1:50pm

Neuroscientists have found that the brain can wake up in different ways, explaining why some mornings feel like a dream and some feel like a disaster

Categories: Astronomy

New Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS’s Biggest Mysteries Explained

Thu, 07/17/2025 - 9:30am

Scientists are racing to learn as much as possible about the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS before it fades from view forever

Categories: Astronomy

How Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act Will Raise Energy Costs, Carbon Emissions

Wed, 07/16/2025 - 2:15pm

Household energy expenses will rise, as will greenhouse gas emissions, as a result of the Trump administration's One Big Beautiful Bill Act

Categories: Astronomy

New Parkinson’s Implant Listens to Brain Waves to Treat Symptoms

Wed, 07/16/2025 - 12:00pm

New deep-brain-stimulation implants for Parkinson’s disease can listen in on brain waves and adapt to treat symptoms. Can this approach target other conditions?

Categories: Astronomy

Astronomers See Planet Formation ‘Time Zero’ in an Alien Solar System

Wed, 07/16/2025 - 11:45am

Observations of a baby star may show the earliest stages of planet formation that astronomers have ever seen

Categories: Astronomy

The Large Hadron Collider Discovers Antimatter Behaving Oddly in New Class of Particles

Wed, 07/16/2025 - 11:00am

The LHCb experiment has observed a new difference between matter and antimatter in particles called baryons

Categories: Astronomy