News: 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.
What archaeology reveals about the rise of all-powerful rulers
Autocracy wasn’t inevitable in early civilizations. But when riches were there to monopolize, strongmen and inequalities emerged
Posted on 6 September 2026 | 2:00 pm
These smart bricks know what object they make up
Collectively intelligent bricks figure out if they’re in a boat, chair or guitar
Posted on 6 September 2026 | 1:00 pm
Mathematicians discover the worst way to hang a painting
New solutions found to picture-hanging problems
Posted on 5 September 2026 | 1:00 pm
New brain scan tool could help treat Huntington’s disease, a devastating genetic condition
Huntington’s disease is an inherited condition that gradually robs people of their ability to move, speak and even think clearly—there is no cure
Posted on 5 September 2026 | 1:00 pm
Geometry Reveals the Tricks behind Gerrymandering
Some voting districts are tilted intentionally toward one party or another—a factor in the midterms. Geometry plays a critical role in gerrymandering
Posted on 4 September 2026 | 7:00 pm
2026 Ig Nobels honor cockroach milk, interspecies kissing, taunting venomous snakes, and more
The silliest science awards of the year are here, but the Ig Nobels aren’t just funny business
Posted on 4 September 2026 | 5:45 pm
Pentagon pauses controversial testosterone policy guidelines
Experts say there is not enough evidence to support broadly screening men for testosterone without any symptoms
Posted on 4 September 2026 | 5:05 pm
What’s the tech behind the record-breaking RSA-260 crack?
A researcher’s social media post that revealed how to break part of a popular encryption protocol has gone viral. But did he really do it with just “good old paper and pencil”?
Posted on 4 September 2026 | 3:00 pm
This star has the strangest sky in the galaxy
The newfound star S301 orbits the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole so closely that its view of the heavens gets twisted
Posted on 4 September 2026 | 12:45 pm
What a novel about a dating app for dead bodies reveals about human connection
Author Sarah Pierce explores dating apps, loneliness and human connection through a novel about a corpse-matching algorithm
Posted on 4 September 2026 | 12:00 pm
‘Unparalleled’ study finds psilocybin protects against nerve damage from chemotherapy
The findings, which were made in mice, may offer a new way to prevent a common chemotherapy side effect that can last well beyond treatment
Posted on 3 September 2026 | 8:00 pm
The spacecraft BepiColombo is finally nearing Mercury after 8 years in space
In a critical maneuver on Thursday, the mission successfully deployed its two science orbiters—beginning the final phases of its arrival at Mercury
Posted on 3 September 2026 | 4:30 pm
An endangered pygmy raccoon turned trash into toys—and taught her family how, too
The endangered animals displayed a first in raccoons and their kin
Posted on 3 September 2026 | 12:45 pm
U.N. admits exceeding Paris Agreement’s 1.5-degree-C warming target is ‘unavoidable’
The world is set to blow past the Paris Agreement’s longtime threshold “within the next few years,” according to a new report
Posted on 2 September 2026 | 10:15 pm
How the super El Niño could turbocharge warming in the Himalayas
After one of the worst natural disasters in the region’s history, attention is turning to the looming super El Niño
Posted on 2 September 2026 | 8:00 pm