Scientific American.com

Synthetic polymers were supposed to free us from the limitations of our natural resources. Instead they led to an environmental crisis

Huge fish; spiritualist rebuke

Remarkable new treatments can free millions of kids and adults from the deadly threat of peanut allergy, tackling one of our fastest-growing medical problems

Writers, artists, photographers and researchers share the stories behind the stories

The search for extraterrestrial life has periodically been turned upside down

Science in meter and verse

Play this crossword inspired by the September 2025 issue of Scientific American

Figure out how to split the square in this math puzzle

The U.S. is a global powerhouse. Public education is one of the main reasons why

Unless you have celiac disease, there are few health benefits to a gluten-free diet

Washing waste from the brain is an essential function of sleep—and it could help ward off dementia

Long dismissed as impossible, nerve regrowth is offering new hope for healing injuries and treating neurodegeneration

The universe has a habit of disproving “unassailable” facts

DNA holds our genetic blueprints, but its cousin, RNA, conducts our daily lives

More and more kids are turning to artificial intelligence chatbots for social interaction. We are scrambling to understand the pros and cons of their use

Bucking national trends in childhood vaccination rates, more teens are getting recommended shots, including for measles and whooping cough

A large language model interviewed me about my life and gave the information to an AI agent built to portray my personality. Could it convince me it was me?

The first detailed observation of the bathroom habits of Streaked Shearwaters at sea leave scientists with a surprising load of questions

From hints of citrus to caramel, premium chocolate’s complex flavors derive from fermenting microbes on cocoa bean farms—and a new study suggests they can be grown on demand in the lab

Beneath the surfaces of distant planets, microbes might subsist on harsh radiation rather than starlight, a new study suggests