Scientific American

Runner on a mountain trail during race

ExerciseOctober 20, 2025

Is There a Fundamental Limit to Human Metabolism? New Research Suggests Yes

A new study finds that even elite endurance athletes run up against a hard metabolic ceiling

Jason Dinh

Open book surrounded by closed books with purple covers on a purple background, representing the power of knowledge and the importance of reading

MemoryOctober 20, 2025

Brains Remember Stories Differently Based on How They Were Told

Allison Parshall

Digital illustration of a model of death fold domains (green) that are templating a caspase (blue) on black background

October 20, 2025

Cells Have a Crystal Trigger That Makes Them Self-Destruct When Viruses Invade

Viviane Callier

A large crowd marching along a street with the Capitol dome looming in the background.

SociologyOctober 20, 2025

U.S. Protesters Increasingly Reject Political Violence, 'No Kings' Survey Finds

Dan Vergano

A woman in a spacesuit and jetpack examines a planet with a word game pattern within it

GamesOctober 20, 2025

Spellements: Monday, October 20, 2025

Emma R. Hasson

Read The November Issue on Life’s Big Bangs

An image of colonies of Escherichia coli bacteria grown on a plate.

Public HealthOctober 20, 2025

Global Superbugs Surge, Chikungunya Hits Long Island, and Satellites Leak Data

Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Jeffery DelViscio, Alex Sugiura

A box of Tdap vaccinations sits on a table

Public HealthOctober 17, 2025

Why Aluminum in Vaccines Is Safe—And Often Essential

Humberto Basilio

VideoOctober 17, 2025

How to Stay Safe during RSV Season

Zachary Rubin

Two asian people wearing face masks to protect from influenza and other respiratory viruses on a crowded train in japan

InfluenzaOctober 17, 2025

Flu Cases Surge Early in Japan, Sparking Global Health Concerns

Rachel Fieldhouse, Nature magazine

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Celebrating 180 Years of Scientific American

Various Covers from Scientific American

Neurotic Cats, One-Eyed Aliens and Hypnosis for Liars Are among the Historical Gems Reported in Scientific American

Mark Fischetti

Covers of three issues of Scientific American

CultureSeptember 22, 2025

Announcing the #SciAmInTheWild Photography Contest Short List

Sunya Bhutta, Isabella Bruni, Brianne Kane

A full-disk image of Neptune, featuring the bluish planet's dark spot and bright cloud bands.

The UniverseAugust 15, 2025

One Year after Scientific American’s First Issue, the Solar System Grew by a Planet

Phil Plait

Drawings of Mars showing its 'canals' and polar ice caps from 1907

HealthAugust 25, 2025

Scientific American Celebrates 180 Years with Stories of Scientific U-turns

Rachel Feltman, Jeffery DelViscio, Alex Sugiura

Group of suited scientists pose indoors; Einstein seated center front with Hans Bethe standing behind him.

OpinionAugust 1, 2025

U.S. Science and Scientific American Have Weathered Attacks Before and Won

Dan Vergano

Explore Collection

November 2025 Issue

Colorful depiction of organisms in the big bang

Evolution

Mysterious Rocks Could Rewrite Evolution of Complex Life

Asher Elbein

Illustration of a purple and yellow person with lightning strikes and sunshine in the background

Psychology

The Slippery Slope of Ethical Collapse—And How Courage Can Reverse It

Elizabeth Svoboda

Omega 3 Fish Oil capsules in a spoon against a yellow background

Health

Which Anti-Inflammatory Supplements Actually Work?

Lori Youmshajekian

Illustration of a meteorite as a ripped piece of paper shooting through space

Planetary Science

The Sordid Mystery of a Somalian Meteorite Smuggled into China

Dan Vergano

Illustration of a finger pointed up at a drop of blood

Diabetes

Type 1 Diabetes Science Is Having a Moment

Jeanna Bryner

Illustration of DNA structure with characters of people standing on the strands

Genetics

Diagnosing Type 1 Diabetes before Symptoms Strike

Rachel Nuwer

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Games

A robot hand reaches toward bubbles with letters in them

Spellements

Create as many words as you can!

Illustration of a hand and multiple numbers against a purple background.

Math Puzzles

Stretch your math muscles with these puzzles.

A robot hand unleashes a swirl of puzzle pieces, crosswords, and circles with numbers and letters

All Games

Science inspired games, puzzles and quizzes

Special Edition

Close up illustration of a human eye

Neuroscience

The Brain Science of Elusive ‘Aha! Moments’

John Kounios, Yvette Kounios

Design of a blue tech-like background with a brain in the center.

Artificial Intelligence

Building Intelligent Machines Helps Us Learn How Our Brain Works

George Musser

Illustration of a person on a hospital bed having an out of body experience within a hospital setting

Neuroscience

Lifting the Veil on Near-Death Experiences

Rachel Nuwer

Illustration of a cell, with the Earth at the center of it

Neuroscience

How the Brain ‘Constructs’ the Outside World

György Buzsáki

Human faces lots of eyes colorful waves

Psychiatry

New Treatments Are Rewriting Our Understanding of Schizophrenia

Diana Kwon

Illustration of a head covered in testing equipment, and a smaller figure of a woman reaching up to touch the head.

Sleep

The New Science of Controlling Lucid Dreams

Michelle Carr

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Podcasts

An image of colonies of Escherichia coli bacteria grown on a plate.

October 20, 2025

Global Superbugs Surge, Chikungunya Hits Long Island, and Satellites Leak Data

Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Jeffery DelViscio, Alex Sugiura

An artist's impression of a fast blazing Meteor over Earth's atmosphere

Space & PhysicsOctober 17, 2025

How a Space Rock Became a Scientific Breakthrough—And a Black Market Commodity

Rachel Feltman, Dan Vergano, Jeffery DelViscio, Fonda Mwangi, Alex Sugiura

A woman coughing while sitting down.

CancerOctober 15, 2025

A Surgeon Explains the Alarming Rise of Lung Cancer in Nonsmoking Women

Rachel Feltman, Jeffery DelViscio, Fonda Mwangi, Kylie Murphy, Alex Sugiura

The podium of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize at the Norwegian Nobel Institute.

MedicineOctober 13, 2025

Nobel Prizes, COVID Vaccine Updates and Malnutrition in Gaza

Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Alex Sugiura

An illustration of a man with the White House in the background.

MedicineOctober 10, 2025

What It’s like to Be the President’s Doctor

Lauren J. Young, Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Alex Sugiura

Popular Stories

Digital illustration of a model of death fold domains (green) that are templating a caspase (blue) on black background

October 20, 2025

Cells Have a Crystal Trigger That Makes Them Self-Destruct When Viruses Invade

A special class of immune proteins protect us from pathogens but also drive inflammation and cell death

Viviane Callier

A photo of a comet streaking through the dark night sky.

AstronomyOctober 17, 2025

How to Catch a Rare Comet and a Meteor Shower

A comet visible to the naked eye will make its closest approach to Earth on October 21

Dan Falk

Runner on a mountain trail during race

ExerciseOctober 20, 2025

Is There a Fundamental Limit to Human Metabolism? New Research Suggests Yes

A new study finds that even elite endurance athletes run up against a hard metabolic ceiling

Jason Dinh

Detail of a chart shows data points labelled human on a bicycle, human on a velomobile, human, horse, automobile, pigeon, dog, salmon and others.

EngineeringOctober 14, 2025

A Classic Graphic Reveals Nature’s Most Efficient Traveler

A famous graphic, now updated, compares locomotion in the animal kingdom

Allison Parshall, DTAN Studio

Omega 3 Fish Oil capsules in a spoon against a yellow background

HealthOctober 14, 2025

Which Anti-Inflammatory Supplements Actually Work?

Experts say the strongest scientific studies identify three compounds that fight disease and inflammation

Lori Youmshajekian

A photo of a curving sculpture featuring encrypted code on its surface.

GamingOctober 16, 2025

A Solution to the CIA’s Kryptos Code Is Found after 35 Years

After decades of speculation, two writers uncovered the answer to the Kryptos code’s final cipher

Humberto Basilio

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