Give me a lever long enough and a place to stand and I can move the Earth

— Archimedes 200 BC

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Updated: 9 hours 53 min ago

The Benefits of Raising Conscientious Kids

Mon, 07/07/2025 - 4:00pm

Being conscientious will serve kids in the long run. Here are some tips to help them learn that trait

Categories: Astronomy

Why Did Texas Flash Flood Waters Rise So Quickly?

Mon, 07/07/2025 - 12:00pm

Flash floods happen when heavy rains unleash more water than the ground can absorb, causing that water to pile up and flow to low-lying areas

Categories: Astronomy

Addiction Risk Shows up in Children’s Brain Scans before Drug Use Starts

Mon, 07/07/2025 - 11:15am

Brain differences in children and teens who experiment with drugs early show up before they take their first puff or sip

Categories: Astronomy

Texas Flood Forecasts Were Accurate but Not Sufficient to Save Lives

Mon, 07/07/2025 - 11:00am

The National Weather Service issued timely alerts, meteorologists say, but few were listening in the hours before the early-morning flash floods along the Guadalupe River

Categories: Astronomy

Pulsing Magma in Earth’s Mantle Drives Tectonic Plates Tearing Africa Apart

Mon, 07/07/2025 - 6:30am

Chemical fingerprints from volcanic rock offer hints of what’s happening in the mantle below the area where three rift zones meet in East Africa

Categories: Astronomy

Astronaut Matthew Dominick Speaks to Scientific American, Live from the International Space Station

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

We spoke with NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick in an exclusive, first-ever interview from the cupola of the International Space Station.

Categories: Astronomy

Math’s Block-Stacking Problem Has a Preposterous Solution

Sun, 07/06/2025 - 7:00am

In principle, this impossible math allows for a glue-free bridge of stacked blocks that can stretch across the Grand Canyon—and into infinity

Categories: Astronomy

Climate Change’s Fingerprints Came Early, a Thought Experiment Reveals

Fri, 07/04/2025 - 10:00am

Climate change left its signature on the atmosphere early in the industrial revolution, reveals a thought experiment investigation

Categories: Astronomy

Workers Have Died in Extreme Heat as OSHA Has Debated Protections

Fri, 07/04/2025 - 8:00am

The June heat dome contributed to the deaths of at least three people. They have died as federal regulators have weighed whether to finalize the nation’s first heat protection rule for workers

Categories: Astronomy

Human Gut Bacteria Can Gather Up PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals’

Fri, 07/04/2025 - 7:30am

When tested on their own and in mice, these bacterial strains from the human microbiome show promise in accumulating PFAS

Categories: Astronomy

Can Life Survive the Death of the Sun?

Fri, 07/04/2025 - 6:45am

The future is bright—too bright—for life as we know it once the sun transforms into a red giant star

Categories: Astronomy

Proof That Adult Brains Make New Neurons Settles Scientific Controversy

Thu, 07/03/2025 - 3:30pm

Adult brains grow new neurons, and scientists have finally pinpointed where they come from

Categories: Astronomy

First Human Genome from Ancient Egypt Sequenced from 4,800-Year-Old Teeth

Thu, 07/03/2025 - 2:00pm

Forty years after the first effort to extract mummy DNA, researchers have finally generated a full genome sequence from an ancient Egyptian, who lived when the earliest pyramids were built

Categories: Astronomy

How Massive Medicaid Cuts Will Harm People’s Health

Thu, 07/03/2025 - 11:40am

Evidence shows that Medicaid improves people’s health and is particularly vital for babies, older people in need of long-term care and people in rural communities

Categories: Astronomy

New Interstellar Object Comet 3I/ATLAS—What We Know So Far as It Zips through the Solar System

Thu, 07/03/2025 - 11:15am

All eyes are on Comet 3I/ATLAS as astronomers worldwide chase the exotic ice ball through our solar system

Categories: Astronomy

Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act Will Raise U.S. Climate Emissions

Thu, 07/03/2025 - 10:50am

Four research firms project that the Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act will raise greenhouse gas emissions and likely put U.S. and global climate goals out of reach

Categories: Astronomy

Record-Breaking Results Bring Fusion Power Closer to Reality

Thu, 07/03/2025 - 8:00am

Breakthroughs from two rival experiments, Germany’s Wendelstein 7-X and the Joint European Torus, suggest the elusive dream of controlled nuclear fusion may be within reach

Categories: Astronomy

How Trump’s Federal Funding Cuts Are Hurting Early-Career Researchers and American Health

Thu, 07/03/2025 - 7:00am

Canceled grants and slashed budgets are disproportionately affecting junior health researchers, dealing a major blow to the future of science and society in the U.S.

Categories: Astronomy

AI Could Help Save Patients from Extreme Heat

Wed, 07/02/2025 - 11:15am

AI could be used to comb through electronic health records and warn vulnerable people about dangerous heat waves

Categories: Astronomy

Astronomers Found the Most Self-Destructive Planet in the Sky

Wed, 07/02/2025 - 11:00am

This planet triggers flares on its star—spelling its ultimate doom

Categories: Astronomy