Scientific American.com

A Male Birth Control Pill Moves to the Next Clinical Trial Stage
A new hormone-free birth control pill that reversibly stops sperm production has passed its first safety trial in humans, offering hope for more reversible contraceptive options.
Why ‘Use Your Words’ Can Be Good for Kids’ Health
Studies show that writing or expressing what we are feeling can help adults mentally and physically. Kids are no different
Trump Order Would Give Political Appointees Power over Science Funding Decisions
Researchers are alarmed that an expansive executive order issued by President Donald Trump might upend a long-standing tradition of peer-review for grants
What Is the Luhn Algorithm? The Math Behind Credit Card Transactions
Find out how this simple algorithm from the 1960s catches your typos
Cosmic Tornado from Star’s Birth Whirls in Dazzling JWST Image
This telescope has revealed the whipped-up dust from the birth of a star—and a shining background galaxy—more clearly than ever before
Should You Worry the New Chikungunya Virus Outbreak in China Could Reach the U.S.?
Experts say the painful infection, spread to people from mosquitoes, can get to many countries if it finds the right hosts
The Perseid Meteor Shower Is Peaking. Here’s How to Watch
The Perseids are the best annual meteor shower, but this year’s show will be dimmed by a bright gibbous moon
Deep-Sea Desalination Pulls Fresh Water from the Depths
Companies are experimenting with deep-sea tech to produce cheaper fresh water
Wordology: Terms from the Archive
Explore the words of science past from Scientific American
How This AI Breakthrough with Pure Mathematics and Reinforcement Learning Could Help Predict Future Crises
An artificial intelligence breakthrough uses reinforcement learning to tackle the Andrews-Curtis conjecture, solving long-standing counterexamples and hinting at tools for forecasting stock crashes, diseases and climate disasters
Pessimistic Dogs Are Better at Smelling Cancer—And Other Keys to Disease-Sniffing Success
New research is revealing how disease-smelling dogs can excel
Rogue Worlds May Not Be So Lonely After All, NASA’s Europa Mission Advances, and RFK, Jr., Pulls mRNA Vaccine Funds
From planets roaming space to major shifts in health funding, catch up with this week’s news roundup.
Did Disease Defeat Napoleon?
Napoleon’s campaign against the Russian Empire was one of the most costly wars in history. Many soldiers died of diseases. Some of these illnesses are only now being identified
AI-Designed Hydrogel Inspired by Nature Creates Ultra-Strong Underwater Adhesive
Today this material can seal pipes and brave the ocean. But someday it could be used in surgery or underwater repairs
Physicists Divided on What Quantum Mechanics Says about Reality
A survey of more than 1,000 physicists finds deep disagreements in what quantum theories mean in the real world
This Mushroom’s Incredibly Bitter Taste Is New to Science
The first analysis of mushroom bitterness reveals ultrapotent compounds
What Are Light Echoes, and Why Do They Matter?
Bizarre phenomena called light echoes create strange, shifting shapes seen in some telescopic images and help astronomers chart the heavens above
Congressman Eric Sorensen on Defending Climate Science, Depoliticizing Weather and Bringing Scientific Rigor to Capitol Hill
Representative Eric Sorensen of Illinois shares how his meteorology roots drive his fight to protect climate science and push back against political interference.
JWST Spots Possible Alien Planet at Alpha Centauri
In some of its most ambitious work yet, the James Webb Space Telescope looked to spot a planet in a potentially habitable orbit around Alpha Centauri A, the nearest sunlike star to our solar system
Students Find Hidden Fibonacci Sequence in Classic Probability Puzzle
Though the Fibonacci sequence shows up everywhere in nature, these young mathematicians were surprised to find it in the answer to a variation of the pick-up sticks problem—a nearly two-century-old form of puzzle