Scientific American.com

As more people turn to chatbots for medical guidance, the technology is revealing both its promise and its risks

Some of Earth’s tiniest life-forms inhabit slowly sinking particles of fish poop and debris, playing a crucial role in ocean carbon storage

There are parts of the universe, and of the electromagnetic spectrum, that we’re not covering with our telescopes—but not as many as you might think!

A new book argues that disparities in fibroids, cancer and diagnosis reveal a lifelong gynecologic health crisis for Black women

This snail became the first animal living on deep-sea hydrothermal vents to be added to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species—it also turns poisonous sulfur into armor

The nation’s top court extended a stay on a lower court order banning telemedicine access to mifepristone, a drug used in medication abortions—but the order sets up a longer legal fight

The El Niño climate event is due to return this year, with U.S. forecasters predicting an 82 percent chance of it coming in May through July and a 96 percent chance for it doing so in December through February 2027

A mathematical ratio could explain why AI-generated art doesn’t evoke awe from viewers

In a “breakthrough,” researchers demonstrate how engineered bacteria held in a jellylike container could help fight infection in mice

The hantavirus cruise outbreak may not have started in a garbage dump in Ushuaia, Argentina, after all

The Psyche spacecraft is bound for a metal-rich asteroid that it will examine up close starting in 2029. But first, it needs to swing past the Red Planet

The rare isotope helium-3 is one of Earth’s most precious commodities—so precious, in fact, that it might prove profitable to mine from the moon

Despite decades of damage, the Persian Gulf’s ecological marvels remain—for now

Flecks of minerals captured in diamonds show hidden connections between Earth’s surface and its deep interior

Research suggests depression assessment questionnaires can’t reliably compare people with differing intelligence

Heat conditions could exceed dangerous levels at a quarter of the planned 2026 World Cup soccer matches, including the final in New Jersey on July 19

Debris is a growing threat to orbital infrastructure, and it’s only going to get worse as the number of launches increases

The Andes type of the hantavirus is spread by “close contact,” but it’s unclear how much of that transmission occurs by inhaling airborne droplets or other means

A survey found that more than 60 percent of respondents “strongly support” making psychedelics easier to study, reflecting a growing consensus that some could have therapeutic use

Archaeologists analyzed a Neanderthal molar that seems like it was intentionally drilled, but some experts are skeptical