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.
Black Hole Mergers Show Strange Mathematical Link to String Theory
Researchers have shown that abstract mathematical functions from the frontiers of theoretical physics have a real-world use in modeling gravitational waves
Posted on 14 May 2025 | 5:00 pm
Migraine Drug Ubrogepant Tackles Debilitating Early Symptoms
Results from a phase 3 clinical trial suggest that taking ubrogepant at the first sign of an oncoming migraine can prevent preheadache fatigue and light sensitivity
Posted on 14 May 2025 | 3:00 pm
Science Tells Us the U.S. Is Heading toward a Dictatorship
The red flags abound—political research tells us the U.S. is becoming an autocracy
Posted on 14 May 2025 | 1:30 pm
Wiggling Sperm Power a New Male Fertility Test
A physics-based sperm-screening technique could offer a more accurate at-home test for people trying to conceive
Posted on 14 May 2025 | 12:45 pm
West Texas Measles Cases Threaten Elimination Status in the U.S. Here’s Why That Matters
High vaccination rates eliminated measles in the U.S. An outbreak that began in West Texas is threatening to overturn that status.
Posted on 14 May 2025 | 12:00 pm
What Are AI Chatbot Companions Doing to Our Mental Health?
AI chatbot companions may not be real, but the feelings users form for them are. Some scientists worry about long-term dependency
Posted on 13 May 2025 | 6:00 pm
Hurricanes, Wildfires and Other Disasters Displaced a Record 46 Million People Last Year
In 2024 disasters displaced a record number of people both globally and in the U.S. About 11 million U.S. residents had to relocate to another part of the country because of hurricanes, floods and wildfires
Posted on 13 May 2025 | 5:30 pm
How to Build a ‘Black Hole Bomb’
Astronomical amounts of energy could be extracted from black holes—to build a gigantic bomb, for example. Experts have now implemented this principle in the laboratory
Posted on 13 May 2025 | 3:00 pm
How Trump’s National Weather Service Cuts Could Cost Lives
Weather experts warn that staff cuts at the National Weather Service that have been made by the Trump administration are a danger to public safety as tornadoes, hurricanes and heat loom this spring and summer
Posted on 13 May 2025 | 1:00 pm
California Told Companies to Label Toxic Chemicals. Instead They’re Quietly Dropping Them
Businesses are making moves to avoid consumer warning labels, and the effects reach far beyond California
Posted on 13 May 2025 | 12:45 pm
Babesiosis, a Tick-Borne Disease That Resembles Malaria, Is on the Rise
The tick that causes Lyme disease can also spread babesiosis—and researchers fear doctors in the mid-Atlantic don’t know about it
Posted on 12 May 2025 | 8:00 pm
Ways To Cope When Your Child Gets A Life-Altering Diagnosis
Parents often struggle with the news that their child has a major health issue. Learning how to manage new routines and expectations is key to everyone’s happiness
Posted on 12 May 2025 | 7:00 pm
U.K. Funds Geoengineering Experiments as Global Controversy Grows
Critics say U.K. investment in research on climate-cooling interventions, such as refreezing sea ice and brightening clouds, distracts from the need to cut planet-warming emissions
Posted on 12 May 2025 | 5:30 pm
Breeding for ‘Cuteness’ Is Making Dogs and Cats Look More Alike
Pugs, Persian cats, and other smushed-face cats and dogs are more similar to one another than they are to the wild animals they evolved from
Posted on 12 May 2025 | 1:00 pm
Knitting’s Complex Shapes Explained in New Physics Model
A new mathematical model helps to advance the centuries-old art of knitting
Posted on 12 May 2025 | 12:45 pm