Give me a lever long enough and a place to stand and I can move the Earth

— Archimedes 200 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 15 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