#scientific-american

[ follow ]
Digital life
fromEarth911
9 hours ago

Guest Idea: Why Sustainable Home Tech Choices Also Need Cybersecurity Awareness

Sustainable technology adoption is rising, but security risks of connected devices are often overlooked, impacting both environmental and digital safety.
#mathematics
Science
fromHarvard Gazette
1 day ago

The questions that keep scientists up at night - Harvard Gazette

Major unanswered questions in various scientific fields continue to challenge researchers, highlighting the limits of current knowledge and the potential impact of future discoveries.
Medicine
fromNature
1 day ago

Scientists invented a fake disease. AI told people it was real

Bixonimania is a fabricated medical condition that highlights the dangers of misinformation in AI-generated health advice.
Mental health
fromPsychology Today
1 day ago

A New Narrative for Planetary Health in the Hybrid Era

Perceiving crises as external leads to helplessness and disengagement, while recognizing agency fosters positive outcomes and behavior change.
Cancer
fromNature
2 days ago

Engaging the head and the heart: why scientists turn to poetry

Poetry and medicine intertwine, enhancing the healing process and providing emotional support in palliative care.
OMG science
fromState of the Planet
5 days ago

Two Sustainability Students See Opportunity Hidden in Laundry-Induced Microplastic Pollution

Federal agencies are prioritizing microplastics in drinking water and launching initiatives to detect and remove them from the human body.
Cannabis
fromFuturism
3 days ago

Scientists Gene Hacked a Plant So It Grows Five Types of Psychoactive Drugs at Once

Genetically engineered tobacco plants can produce five different psychedelics, potentially enabling sustainable production for therapeutic use.
Education
fromFortune
3 days ago

Meet a former VC who has a plan to prepare American students for an AI-disrupted future | Fortune

American education must adapt to prepare students for a rapidly changing workforce influenced by artificial intelligence.
fromwww.theguardian.com
4 days ago

It's official: scientists aren't funny. But it doesn't have to be this way | Helen Pilcher

The findings confirm research that I conducted more than 20 years ago. Under the guise of the Comedy Research Project, Timandra Harkness and I performed a randomised clinical trial to assess whether or not science can be funny.
Humor
#ai
Science
fromNature
2 weeks ago

How to build an AI Scientist: first peer-reviewed paper spills the secrets

AI Scientist automates the entire scientific process, from idea generation to paper writing, and has undergone peer review.
#artificial-intelligence
fromwww.scientificamerican.com
1 week ago
Science

AI wrote a scientific paper that passed peer review

AI has begun to independently conduct scientific research, marking a significant shift in the role of technology in scientific discovery.
Science
fromwww.scientificamerican.com
1 week ago

AI wrote a scientific paper that passed peer review

AI has begun to independently conduct scientific research, marking a significant shift in the role of technology in scientific discovery.
Philosophy
fromNature
6 days ago

How procrastination can rob you of career fulfilment in science

Procrastination is linked to the cult of work, where identity is tied to productivity and work becomes a sacred duty.
fromMail Online
2 days ago

Launching 50,000 mirrors into space will 'significantly' disrupt sleep

The proposed scale of orbital deployment would represent a significant alteration of the natural night-time light environment at a planetary scale.
Science
OMG science
fromArs Technica
1 week ago

Research roundup: 7 cool science stories we almost missed

Raccoons exhibit flexible problem-solving skills, thriving in human environments by successfully navigating complex puzzles.
Non-profit organizations
fromNature
2 weeks ago

'Continuity over novelty': why environmental science needs to rethink its focus

The closure of forest-service research offices threatens long-term ecological research and institutional memory in the US.
Science
fromwww.theguardian.com
3 days ago

Satellite mirror plans could disrupt sleep and ecosystems worldwide, scientists say

Deployment of reflective satellites could disrupt ecosystems and human health by altering natural night-time light environments.
European startups
fromenglish.elpais.com
2 weeks ago

Welcome, American scientists: Europe, a haven for researchers struggling under Trump

Safe Place for Science initiative successfully attracted U.S. researchers to Europe amid restrictive policies, receiving over 900 applications shortly after its launch.
OMG science
fromFuturism
5 days ago

$60 Million Startup Says It's Invented a New Particle to Dim the Sun

Stardust Solutions raised $60 million for solar geoengineering to combat global warming by dimming the Sun, but faces significant controversy and unknown consequences.
Psychology
fromPsychology Today
2 weeks ago

The Creativity of Science: How We Discover New Things

Psychological research requires creativity to design studies, develop explanations, and provide practical recommendations.
Public health
fromwww.scientificamerican.com
3 weeks ago

Readers respond to the December 2025 issue

A reader shares her postpartum depression survival story, crediting specialized perinatal psychiatry care and peer support groups with saving her life, while expressing gratitude for ongoing research into better treatments.
fromNature
1 week ago

Now is the time for scientific societies to guide global research

Modern scientific societies are increasingly vulnerable due to their dependence on membership fees and journal subscriptions, which are being challenged by the rise of virtual networking and open-access publishing.
Science
OMG science
fromNature
1 week ago

Giants of the deep and the wonder of space: Books in Brief

Right whales have drastically declined from abundant populations in the 17th century to fewer than 400 today.
Philosophy
fromPsychology Today
3 weeks ago

Why Some Scientific Debates Never End

Complex questions involving values cannot be definitively settled by evidence alone, as different priorities lead experts to emphasize different findings from the same data.
Science
fromwww.scientificamerican.com
1 week ago

How human neurons on a chip learned to play Doom

Cortical Labs demonstrated living human neurons playing Doom, showcasing adaptive learning and potential applications in computing and drug testing.
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

Humanity heating planet faster than ever before, study finds

Climate breakdown is occurring more rapidly with the heating rate almost doubling, according to research that excludes the effect of natural factors behind the latest scorching temperatures. It found global heating accelerated from a steady rate of less than 0.2C per decade between 1970 and 2015 to about 0.35C per decade over the past 10 years.
Environment
Non-profit organizations
fromNature
1 month ago

How Congress can restore the independence of US science

US federal science governance is shifting from merit-based civil service implementation to presidential political control, threatening research effectiveness and the science base.
Education
fromwww.scientificamerican.com
4 weeks ago

A clever math shortcut could reveal your problem-solving superpower

Boys are significantly more likely than girls to use creative shortcuts for arithmetic, and this flexibility correlates with better abstract problem-solving abilities.
fromNature
2 weeks ago

Can China keep up its extraordinary research growth?

China's overall Share from September 2024 to August 2025 exceeded 38,000 and is on course to double that of the United States within the next two years.
Science
#academic-publishing
Higher education
fromNature
3 weeks ago

Reckoning with my 'ghost years': why a high publication rate doesn't always reflect success

Publication gaps during early career development represent valuable research progress and skill-building, not career failure, despite academic pressure to maintain constant output.
fromNature
2 months ago
Public health

I'm going to halve my publication output. You should consider slow science, too

Higher education
fromNature
3 weeks ago

Reckoning with my 'ghost years': why a high publication rate doesn't always reflect success

Publication gaps during early career development represent valuable research progress and skill-building, not career failure, despite academic pressure to maintain constant output.
fromNature
2 months ago
Public health

I'm going to halve my publication output. You should consider slow science, too

Philosophy
fromNature
1 month ago

Modelling the cosmos and imagining a future without meat: Books in brief

Three books examine AI's limitations, cosmological understanding through models, and sustainable meat alternatives as solutions to health and environmental challenges.
#public-lectures
Science
fromNature
3 weeks ago

Daily briefing: How labs are coping with 'RAMmageddon'

Global RAM chip shortage driven by AI demand forces researchers to innovate with more efficient algorithms and hardware, with supply recovery expected in 18+ months.
OMG science
fromArs Technica
1 month ago

Research roundup: Six cool science stories we almost missed

Scientists revived Edison's nickel-iron battery design using protein scaffolding and graphene oxide, creating an aerogel structure for improved renewable energy storage with extended range and longevity.
UK politics
fromNature
1 month ago

Don't deprioritize curiosity-driven research

Government-directed shifts in research funding risk undermining curiosity-driven, investigator-led science that generates fundamental knowledge and long-term innovation.
Environment
fromFuturism
1 month ago

Scientists Suggest That Igniting Oil Spills to Create Fire Tornadoes Might Actually Be Good for the Oceans

Controlled fire whirls can remediate oil spills by producing hotter, faster burns that remove up to 95% of fuel while reducing soot by about 40%.
Science
fromNature
3 weeks ago

How bioRxiv changed the way biologists share ideas - in numbers

bioRxiv has grown to over 310,000 preprints since 2013, with neuroscientists as top users and monthly submissions reaching 4,000 by 2025, demonstrating widespread acceptance of preprint publishing in scientific research.
US politics
fromNature
2 months ago

US science in 2026: five themes that will dominate Trump's second year

Federal science funding and governance face continued uncertainty as administration policies, legal challenges, and Congressional actions will shape research support in 2026.
Science
fromNature
4 weeks ago

Keep calm and be transparent: advice from scientists who retracted their papers

Scientists who self-retract papers due to honest mistakes maintain citation rates and receive community support, suggesting shifting attitudes toward retractions as responsible scientific practice rather than career-damaging misconduct.
Science
fromBig Think
4 weeks ago

The right way to be a scientific contrarian

Scientific advancement occurs through incremental improvements and revolutionary paradigm shifts that replace foundational understanding with entirely new conceptions of natural phenomena.
fromwww.nature.com
2 months ago

Collective intelligence for AI-assisted chemical synthesis

The exponential growth of scientific literature presents an increasingly acute challenge across disciplines. Hundreds of thousands of new chemical reactions are reported annually, yet translating them into actionable experiments becomes an obstacle1,2. Recent applications of large language models (LLMs) have shown promise3,4,5,6, but systems that reliably work for diverse transformations across de novo compounds have remained elusive. Here we introduce MOSAIC (Multiple Optimized Specialists for AI-assisted Chemical Prediction), a computational framework that enables chemists to harness the collective knowledge of millions of reaction protocols.
Medicine
fromwww.scientificamerican.com
2 months ago

Brain training may boost immune response to vaccines

Activating reward-related deep-brain regions via neurofeedback enhances antibody responses to vaccines, showing trained brain activity can strengthen immune response.
fromNature
2 months ago

I know science can't fix the world - here's why I do it anyway

His message is clear: our world is built on abundant energy, around 80% of which has come from fossil fuels over the past 50 years. Because supplies are limited, energy consumption will peak in decades - sooner if humans attempt to limit climate change. To keep global warming below 1.5 °C by 2100, the use of fossil fuels must fall by 5-8% each year - a pace that is too fast for low-carbon energy to keep up with.
Environment
Higher education
fromNature
2 months ago

'Every aspect of my work life has changed' - scientists reflect on a year of Trump

Executive orders and funding changes during Trump's first year intensified campus censorship, worsened higher-education inequity, and risked access for low-income and LGBTQ+ students.
Science
fromArs Technica
2 months ago

Research roundup: 6 cool stories we almost missed

Mineral fingerprinting and zircon analysis indicate humans transported Stonehenge stones from distant quarries, not glaciers.
fromwww.scientificamerican.com
1 month ago

Scientists may have finally figured out what makes ice slippery

Pierre-Louis: If you really think about it, ice skating is just controlled slipping on ice. And whenever I go skating I can't help but think about the Winter Olympics, like the ones that are happening right now in Italy.
Science
Science
fromwww.scientificamerican.com
2 months ago

Readers respond to the October 2025 issue

Cuts to government funding push researchers toward billionaire and private funding, offering resources and freedom but creating risks from narrow priorities and donor motivations.
Science
fromNature
1 month ago

How to wow a popular-science writer with your research expertise

Effective science communication requires researchers to explain work accurately yet comprehensibly, balancing writers' narrative goals with scientists' commitment to precise truth.
fromBig Think
2 months ago

The four paths forward for US scientists in 2026

For nearly 100 years, the United States has been the world's leader in a wide variety of scientific fields. No other country has: invested as much in fundamental scientific research, has made more scientific breakthroughs and scientific advances, has attracted more scientific researchers to move there to conduct their research, or has conducted more projects and been home to more scientists that have won Nobel Prizes.
Science
fromwww.scientificamerican.com
2 months ago

A bright light in the dark

The week leading up to the awards is stacked with lectures, concerts, exhibitions and discussions, and Stockholm is decorated with light displays and video shows. The whole thing feels like the Oscars. People line up on the street to catch a glimpse of celebrities as they leave the Stockholm Concert Hall. National public television dedicates more than five hours to a live broadcast of the ceremony and subsequent banquet.
Science
Science
fromNature Partnerships
2 months ago

Promote your products to scientists | Nature Partnerhships

Reach over 43 million monthly users across Nature, Springer, BMC, and Scientific American to target scientists, healthcare professionals, policymakers, and engaged readers.
fromNature
2 months ago

'It means I can sleep at night': how sensors are helping to solve scientists' problems

In fact, Stawicki was on a mission to save the lives of around 1,000 zebrafish ( Danio rerio) in her laboratory. Similarities between lines of hair cells on the fish's flanks and those in the mammalian inner ear enable her to use them as a model to study hearing problems in humans caused by some antibiotics and chemotherapy drugs. A sensor had picked up that the lab's heating system had been knocked out by a power fault.
Science
Science
fromwww.scientificamerican.com
2 months ago

Americans Overwhelmingly Support Science, but Some Think the U.S. Is Lagging Behind

A majority of Americans value U.S. scientific leadership, but Democrats increasingly believe the country is losing ground while Republicans view scientific standing more positively.
Science
fromNature
1 month ago

Why we don't really know what the public thinks about science

Public understanding of science is limited because measures focus on factual literacy; researchers must broaden evaluation to include institutional knowledge and lived scientific experiences.
Science
fromNature
2 months ago

Epstein files reveal deeper ties to scientists than previously known

Jeffrey Epstein had extensive, previously underreported ties to the scientific community, investing and socializing with numerous researchers, revealed by millions of newly released investigative files.
Science
fromwww.nature.com
2 months ago

Author Correction: An autonomous laboratory for the accelerated synthesis of inorganic materials

Prediction platform correctly identified 36 of 40 synthesized compounds; four were inconclusive, and novelty claims were clarified as 'new to the prediction platform', not new to science.
Science
fromFuncheap
2 months ago

Night of Science: Fact, Fiction, and the Future of Autism Research (SF)

An evening public event presents Dr. Matt State and Victoria Colliver for talks and a fireside chat on autism and neuropsychiatric research, followed by a public Q&A.
Science
fromNature
1 month ago

Science funding needs fixing - but not through chaotic reforms

UK research funding is shifting to a top-down, industrially aligned model, creating uncertainty and risking harm to curiosity-driven science, small groups, and future leaders.
Science
fromThe Atlantic
2 months ago

Science Is Drowning in AI Slop

Scientific journals are increasingly filled with fabricated references and AI-generated low-quality content, undermining peer review and trust in published research.
Science
fromNature
2 months ago

Marvellous microbes, memory and the multiverse: Books in brief

Leeuwenhoek's microscopic discoveries illuminated microbes and cells; biosemiotics links human and nonhuman sign systems; memory entwines the remembering and the remembered.
Science
fromFast Company
2 months ago

Scientific breakthroughs are redefining what's possible with asteroids, cancer research, and neurotech

Cross-disciplinary collaborations and AI enable breakthroughs—asteroid deflection, immunotherapy mapping, and vestibular control—advancing capability to protect and improve human life.
Science
fromwww.scientificamerican.com
2 months ago

February 2026: Science history from 50, 100 and 150 years ago

Highly excited atoms with very large principal quantum numbers can expand to sizes comparable to bacteria and lie on the verge of ionization.
[ Load more ]