The forces of rotation caused red hot masses of stones to be torn away from the Earth and to be thrown into the ether, and this is the origin of the stars.

— Anaxagoras 428 BC

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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: 22 hours 14 min ago

A new study says you need 10 hours of exercise a week. Can that really be possible?

Thu, 05/21/2026 - 2:00pm

Experts question this study’s design and its recommendations—and point out that you probably get more exercise than you think

Categories: Astronomy

Scientists discover why gold doesn’t ‘rust’

Thu, 05/21/2026 - 2:00pm

Gold doesn’t tarnish like similar metals do. A new paper says that the key is the intricate “herringbone” pattern of its atoms.

Categories: Astronomy

NOAA predicts quieter Atlantic hurricane season for 2026—but the Pacific is another story

Thu, 05/21/2026 - 1:29pm

This year’s expected El Niño could hamper hurricanes in the Atlantic but boost them in the central and eastern Pacific

Categories: Astronomy

Trial of next-gen weight-loss drug retatrutide brings it one step closer to FDA approval

Thu, 05/21/2026 - 11:30am

While drugs such as Wegovy target a single gut hormone, retatrutide is among a new class of GLP-1 drugs that aims at three hormone receptors

Categories: Astronomy

AI just solved an 80-year-old ‘Erdős problem,’ and mathematicians are amazed

Thu, 05/21/2026 - 10:47am

A chatbot’s result for the 80-year-old “unit distance” conjecture is the first AI proof that would likely be published in math’s top journal if humans had done it alone

Categories: Astronomy

Can math predict the end of humanity? Inside the ‘doomsday argument’

Thu, 05/21/2026 - 10:30am

This eerily simple math says our days are numbered—and nobody can agree why it’s wrong

Categories: Astronomy

Watch SpaceX launch Starship V3—the tallest and most powerful rocket yet

Thu, 05/21/2026 - 10:00am

Friday’s flight could be the most pivotal test of the Starship megarocket

Categories: Astronomy

Daddy longlegs are actually bloodthirsty killers—of frogs

Thu, 05/21/2026 - 6:30am

The wobbly, lanky arachnids known as harvestmen or daddy longlegs may be overlooked as predators of small vertebrates such as frogs, researchers say

Categories: Astronomy

Start-up reveals ‘artificial egg’ to resurrect extinct birds, but scientists say the work misses the point

Wed, 05/20/2026 - 7:45pm

The science of de-extinction does not exist, but Colossal Biosciences’ “artificial egg” is an interesting technical feat

Categories: Astronomy

Screen time limits can protect children’s health, U.S. surgeon general advisory says

Wed, 05/20/2026 - 6:20pm

The Trump administration warned that too much screen time for children has been linked to poor sleep, bad behavior, and less physical and social activity

Categories: Astronomy

An Ebola outbreak is spreading fast. Should you be worried?

Wed, 05/20/2026 - 5:16pm

A deadly Ebola outbreak in parts of Africa is raising international alarm. Still, experts stress that the chance of a pandemic is low

Categories: Astronomy

These bizarre fossils represent some of the earliest moving, sexually reproducing life ever discovered

Wed, 05/20/2026 - 2:00pm

New trove of fossils reveals that ancestral animals likely emerged in the deep sea

Categories: Astronomy

Vaccines for Bundibugyo Ebola virus outbreak are being developed, but none are ready yet

Wed, 05/20/2026 - 12:30pm

A decade after Ebola vaccines changed outbreak response, a new epidemic in central Africa is caused by a strain the world never fully prepared for

Categories: Astronomy

NASA’s Psyche captures gorgeous Mars crescent photo on way to asteroid

Wed, 05/20/2026 - 10:45am

NASA’s Psyche snapped images as it flew by Mars last week. The spacecraft used the planet’s gravity to give itself a boost on its journey toward its target asteroid

Categories: Astronomy

The Colorado Avalanche is dominating the NHL—Denver’s high elevation could be the reason

Wed, 05/20/2026 - 9:00am

Denver’s hockey team is studded with stars, but training and playing the game some 5,000 feet above sea level may give their athletic performance a boost over that of their rivals

Categories: Astronomy

NASA’s plan for a nuclear reactor on the moon could change space exploration forever—if it works

Wed, 05/20/2026 - 6:00am

Nuclear power could enable long-term lunar missions, but NASA’s timeline may be too ambitious

Categories: Astronomy

Did the last common ancestor of humans and apes walk like a gorilla? A new study offers a clue

Wed, 05/20/2026 - 5:00am

Some extinct human ancestors and modern-day apes appear to share wrist traits that raise the question of whether our last common ancestor walked on its knuckles

Categories: Astronomy

Extreme heat is breaking records in the East. Here’s why

Tue, 05/19/2026 - 6:42pm

A Bermuda high parked over the western Atlantic is pulling sweltering air up from the south, challenging records in parts of the eastern U.S.

Categories: Astronomy

The U.S. just experienced its hottest 12 months on record

Tue, 05/19/2026 - 4:00pm

March was a scorching 9.35 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than the 20th-century average for the month, capping the hottest 12-month stretch for the U.S. since records began in 1895

Categories: Astronomy

SpaceX punts Starship V3 launch to May 21 as investigation opens into Starbase worker’s death

Tue, 05/19/2026 - 3:00pm

SpaceX is now targeting the evening of May 21 to launch the latest and largest version of its Starship megarocket for the first time

Categories: Astronomy