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.
25 years after 9/11, survivors are still getting sick—here are the numbers
A quarter of a century after the Twin Towers fell, those who lived through the attacks are still seeking care for myriad illnesses, including cancers, post-traumatic stress disorder, and more
Posted on 11 September 2026 | 11:00 am
El Niño fuels wildfires in Indonesia, sickening some 100,000 people
The fires are burning peatlands, which can release more particulate matter into the air than other wildfires
Posted on 10 September 2026 | 6:15 pm
The Pacific is being beset by hurricane after hurricane—why is the Atlantic so quiet?
The Pacific Ocean has seen an especially active hurricane season so far, while the Atlantic has had barely a whimper of a storm. Experts explain why
Posted on 10 September 2026 | 5:25 pm
Indonesian volcano erupts with enough force to see from space
NASA’s satellites captured the aftermath of the eruption, which lasted for more than a day
Posted on 10 September 2026 | 4:30 pm
The planet Mercury is shrinking far faster than we thought
The planet’s “wrinkles” give scientists a clue into how the world is contracting in size
Posted on 10 September 2026 | 3:00 pm
August 2026 ties for hottest month ever recorded
The looming El Niño conditions, combined with the warming effects of climate change, contributed to the historic temperatures
Posted on 10 September 2026 | 11:00 am
Mathematicians confront the AI apocalypse
What happens when machines surpass the most brilliant human minds? Mathematicians are finding out
Posted on 10 September 2026 | 9:30 am
New maps reveal hidden landscapes inside a prehistoric supercontinent
Gondwana was much bigger than we thought, according to the new analysis
Posted on 9 September 2026 | 8:00 pm
Astronomers reveal a new type of celestial object that has been hiding in plain sight for decades
It’s unclear what these objects actually are, but evidence for them has been detected by NASA’s Chandra space telescope for years
Posted on 9 September 2026 | 7:00 pm
Scientists unlock new clues to what Denisovans, a mysterious ancient human ancestor, looked like
An analysis of ancient bones found in a Chinese cave offer glimpses of how Denisovans lived more than 130,000 years ago
Posted on 9 September 2026 | 5:00 pm
Gray whales are washing up dead on the West Coast. The reason is alarming
Up and down the Pacific coast, dead gray whales are mysteriously washing ashore—and scientists think they know why
Posted on 9 September 2026 | 1:00 pm
Fog may be hiding secret ecosystems
There’s more to fog than meets the eye
Posted on 9 September 2026 | 12:45 pm
SpaceXAI’s Colossus data center is fueling a massive backlash
Dozens of temporary gas turbines are powering SpaceXAI’s expansion—and fights over permits and pollution
Posted on 9 September 2026 | 12:00 pm
The science of friendship and loneliness
Assistant professor of psychology Jessica Ayers’s new research challenges assumptions about the kind of friendships we need
Posted on 9 September 2026 | 12:00 pm
In 2022 researchers detected a very odd photon from an enormous gamma-ray burst that should have been destroyed on its way to Earth
Posted on 8 September 2026 | 8:30 pm