"The large-scale homogeneity of the universe makes it very difficult to believe that the structure of the universe is determined by anything so peripheral as some complicated molecular structure on a minor planet orbiting a very average star in the outer suburbs of a fairly typical galaxy."

— Steven Hawking

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.
URL: https://www.scientificamerican.com
Updated: 23 hours 25 min ago

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