<link>https://www.scientificamerican.com</link><description/><atom:link href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/platform/syndication/rss/" rel="self"/><language>en-us</language><lastBuildDate>Fri, 17 May 2024 19:00:00 +0000</lastBuildDate><item><title>There Is Too Much Trash in Space https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/there-is-too-much-trash-in-space/<p>Debris from spacecraft threatens the burgeoning space economy. We need a global agreement to keep space clean</p>Fri, 17 May 2024 19:00:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/there-is-too-much-trash-in-space/Slow Response to Bird Flu in Cows Worries Scientistshttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/slow-response-to-bird-flu-in-cows-worries-scientists/<p>The H5N1 virus is a long way from becoming adapted to humans, but limited testing and tracking mean we could miss danger signs</p>Fri, 17 May 2024 18:30:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/slow-response-to-bird-flu-in-cows-worries-scientists/Proposed Plastics Law Could Slash Wasteful Packaginghttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/proposed-plastics-law-could-slash-wasteful-packaging/<p>A law proposed in New York State seeks to reduce plastic packaging, ban certain plastic chemicals and mandate that producers of packaged consumer goods fund the recycling or disposal of what they sell</p>Fri, 17 May 2024 17:00:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/proposed-plastics-law-could-slash-wasteful-packaging/How Does ChatGPT ‘Think’? Psychology and Neuroscience Crack Open AI Large Language Modelshttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-does-chatgpt-think-psychology-and-neuroscience-crack-open-ai-large/<p>Researchers are striving to reverse-engineer artificial intelligence and scan the &ldquo;brains&rdquo; of LLMs to deduce the how any why of that they are doing</p>Fri, 17 May 2024 16:00:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-does-chatgpt-think-psychology-and-neuroscience-crack-open-ai-large/This Year’s La Niña Could Worsen Atlantic Hurricane Seasonhttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/this-years-la-nina-could-worsen-atlantic-hurricane-season/<p>Earth is shifting into a La Ni&ntilde;a period, changing climate patterns all around the globe</p>Fri, 17 May 2024 13:00:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/this-years-la-nina-could-worsen-atlantic-hurricane-season/AI Tool Predicts Whether Online Health Misinformation Will Cause Real-World Harmhttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ai-tool-predicts-whether-online-health-misinformation-will-cause-real-world/<p>A new AI-based analytical technique reveals that specific language phrasing in Reddit misinformation posts foretold people rejecting COVID vaccinations</p>Fri, 17 May 2024 11:30:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ai-tool-predicts-whether-online-health-misinformation-will-cause-real-world/How Can You ‘See’ a Black Hole?https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-can-you-see-a-black-hole/<p>How do astronomers find the darkest objects in the universe?</p>Fri, 17 May 2024 10:45:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-can-you-see-a-black-hole/What’s Turning Cape Cod’s Water ‘Pea-Soup Green’?https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/whats-turning-cape-cods-water-pea-soup-green/<p>Cape Cod&rsquo;s water is turning &ldquo;pea-soup green&rdquo;&mdash;and after decades of scientific detective work, we know why.</p>Fri, 17 May 2024 10:00:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/whats-turning-cape-cods-water-pea-soup-green/Egypt’s Famed Pyramids Overlooked a Long-Lost Branch of the Nilehttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/egypts-famed-pyramids-overlooked-a-long-lost-branch-of-the-nile/<p>A former stretch of the Nile River, now buried beneath the Sahara Desert, may help scientists understand how Egyptians built the pyramids and adapted to a drying landscape</p>Thu, 16 May 2024 16:30:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/egypts-famed-pyramids-overlooked-a-long-lost-branch-of-the-nile/Device Decodes ‘Internal Speech’ in the Brainhttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/device-decodes-internal-speech-in-the-brain/<p>Technology that enables researchers to interpret brain signals could one day allow people to talk using only their thoughts</p>Thu, 16 May 2024 15:30:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/device-decodes-internal-speech-in-the-brain/Do We Have Enough Bird Flu Vaccines for a Potential Pandemic?https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-we-have-enough-bird-flu-vaccines-for-a-potential-pandemic/<p>The U.S. government has a stockpile of H5N1 vaccines, and several companies could make millions more if needed. But scaling up the supply could take time</p>Thu, 16 May 2024 15:15:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-we-have-enough-bird-flu-vaccines-for-a-potential-pandemic/Why Do We Sing? New Analysis of Folk Songs Finds Similarities around the Worldhttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-do-we-sing-new-analysis-of-folk-songs-finds-similarities-around-the/<p>Across the globe, singing traditions are vast and varied. Their commonalities may help explain how music evolved</p>Thu, 16 May 2024 14:45:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-do-we-sing-new-analysis-of-folk-songs-finds-similarities-around-the/Spiderweb Thread Inspires Ultrasmall Microphoneshttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/spiderweb-thread-inspires-ultrasmall-microphones/<p>Sound recording could take a cue from arachnid acoustics</p>Thu, 16 May 2024 14:00:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/spiderweb-thread-inspires-ultrasmall-microphones/The Strongest Solar Storm in 20 Years Did Little Damage, but Worse Space Weather Is Cominghttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-strongest-solar-storm-in-20-years-did-little-damage-but-worse-space/<p>Years of careful planning helped safeguard against last weekend&rsquo;s severe space weather, but we still don&rsquo;t know how we&rsquo;d cope with a monster event</p>Thu, 16 May 2024 12:00:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-strongest-solar-storm-in-20-years-did-little-damage-but-worse-space/Mental Time Travel Helps Birds Remember Food Stasheshttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mental-time-travel-helps-birds-remember-food-stashes/<p>Eurasian Jays use something similar to humans&rsquo; episodic memory to remember where they stored their food</p>Thu, 16 May 2024 11:00:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mental-time-travel-helps-birds-remember-food-stashes/How New Science Fiction Could Help Us Improve AIhttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-new-science-fiction-could-help-us-improve-ai/<p>We need to tell a new story about AI, and fiction has that power, humanities scholars say</p>Thu, 16 May 2024 10:45:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-new-science-fiction-could-help-us-improve-ai/Does Quantum Physics Rule Out Free Will?https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/does-quantum-physics-rule-out-free-will/<p>Everything in the universe may be preordained, according to physics</p>Thu, 16 May 2024 10:00:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/does-quantum-physics-rule-out-free-will/Goose Bumps, Extra Nipples and Leftover Tails Remind Us of What We Once Werehttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/goose-bumps-extra-nipples-and-leftover-tails-remind-us-of-what-we-once-were/<p>Human&rsquo;s evolutionary remnants show us the kinds of animals we used to be</p>Wed, 15 May 2024 17:00:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/goose-bumps-extra-nipples-and-leftover-tails-remind-us-of-what-we-once-were/The Comstock Act Originated with Disregard for Women’s Lives. It Still Does Todayhttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-comstock-act-originated-with-disregard-for-womens-lives-it-still-does/<p>Activists who seek to revive this antiquated law share with Anthony Comstock, the Comstock Act&rsquo;s namesake and progenitor, a similar view of women as subordinate to the decisions of men and God</p> <p></p>Wed, 15 May 2024 14:00:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-comstock-act-originated-with-disregard-for-womens-lives-it-still-does/A Cubic Millimeter of a Human Brain Has Been Mapped in Spectacular Detailhttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-cubic-millimeter-of-a-human-brain-has-been-mapped-in-spectacular-detail/<p>Google scientists have modeled all 150 million connections of a fragment of the human brain at nanoscale resolution</p>Wed, 15 May 2024 13:30:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-cubic-millimeter-of-a-human-brain-has-been-mapped-in-spectacular-detail/Don Pettit, NASA’s Oldest Active Astronaut, Is Going Back to Spacehttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/don-pettit-nasas-oldest-active-astronaut-is-going-back-to-space/<p>Veteran spacefarer Don Pettit is set to launch this summer on a half-year mission to the International Space Station to perform novel science experiments, snap unique orbital photos, and much more</p>Wed, 15 May 2024 13:00:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/don-pettit-nasas-oldest-active-astronaut-is-going-back-to-space/The Immune System May Struggle to Handle Hotter Summer Temperatureshttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-immune-system-may-struggle-to-handle-hotter-summer-temperatures/<p>Heat seems to trigger a sweep of changes in immune system molecules, although researchers disagree on what they might mean</p>Wed, 15 May 2024 10:45:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-immune-system-may-struggle-to-handle-hotter-summer-temperatures/The New ‘Dream Chaser’ Spacecraft Prepares to Visit the International Space Stationhttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-new-dream-chaser-spacecraft-prepares-to-visit-the-international-space/<p>Sierra Space&rsquo;s Dream Chaser is set to make its inaugural trip to orbit to deliver supplies to the International Space Station</p>Wed, 15 May 2024 10:00:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-new-dream-chaser-spacecraft-prepares-to-visit-the-international-space/A Citrus-Scented Cannabis Compound Reduces Anxiety for Weed Usershttps://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/a-citrus-scented-cannabis-compound-reduces-anxiety-for-weed-users/<p>New research into weed reveals how a lemon-scented terpene can ease anxiety without reducing the high.</p>Wed, 15 May 2024 09:30:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/a-citrus-scented-cannabis-compound-reduces-anxiety-for-weed-users/Orcas Just Sank Another Yachthttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/orcas-just-sank-another-yacht/<p>Orcas have once again attacked and sunk a boat near the Strait of Gibraltar, a behavior that has scientists stumped</p>Tue, 14 May 2024 21:15:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/orcas-just-sank-another-yacht/April Heat Waves from Gaza to the Philippines Were Made Worse by Climate Changehttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/april-heat-waves-from-gaza-to-the-philippines-were-made-worse-by-climate/<p>From Gaza to India to the Philippines, climate change exacerbated often record-breaking extreme heat over the past month</p>Tue, 14 May 2024 21:00:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/april-heat-waves-from-gaza-to-the-philippines-were-made-worse-by-climate/Disasters Displaced More Than 26 Million People in 2023https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/disasters-displaced-more-than-26-million-people-in-2023/<p>Floods, wildfires, droughts and earthquakes forced more than 26 million people to leave their homes in 2023</p>Tue, 14 May 2024 20:45:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/disasters-displaced-more-than-26-million-people-in-2023/Sun Erupts with Largest Flare of This Solar Cycle, but Auroras Unlikely to Followhttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/sun-erupts-with-largest-flare-of-this-solar-cycle-but-auroras-unlikely/<p>The same massive sunspot cluster that gave Earth multiple nights of stunning aurora displays has now produced the largest flare of the current solar cycle</p>Tue, 14 May 2024 20:15:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/sun-erupts-with-largest-flare-of-this-solar-cycle-but-auroras-unlikely/The Summer of 2023 Was the Hottest in 2,000 Yearshttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-summer-of-2023-was-the-hottest-in-2-000-years/<p>Ancient tree rings show that the summer of 2023 was the hottest in the past 2,000 years because of human-caused climate change</p>Tue, 14 May 2024 15:00:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-summer-of-2023-was-the-hottest-in-2-000-years/How to Disprove a Conspiracy Theory in 7 Stepshttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-to-disprove-a-conspiracy-theory-in-7-steps/<p>Conspiracy theories are everywhere. Here's how you can figure out when you're being fooled</p>Tue, 14 May 2024 14:00:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-to-disprove-a-conspiracy-theory-in-7-steps/Superheavy Elements Are Breaking the Periodic Tablehttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/superheavy-elements-are-breaking-the-periodic-table/<p>Extreme atoms are pushing the bounds of physics and chemistry</p>Tue, 14 May 2024 13:00:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/superheavy-elements-are-breaking-the-periodic-table/Strangely Shaped Bubbles Tell the Story of Ice’s Formation and Compositionhttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/strangely-shaped-bubbles-tell-the-story-of-ices-formation-and-composition/<p>Bubbles shaped like teardrops, flattened eggs and worms reveal ice&rsquo;s inner life</p>Tue, 14 May 2024 13:00:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/strangely-shaped-bubbles-tell-the-story-of-ices-formation-and-composition/Book Review: Imagining a Radical New Relationship with the Mississippi Riverhttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/book-review-imagining-a-radical-new-relationship-with-the-mississippi-river/<p>The Mississippi River has been manipulated for decades. A new book considers alternative forms of control</p>Tue, 14 May 2024 13:00:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/book-review-imagining-a-radical-new-relationship-with-the-mississippi-river/Asbestos Is Finally Banned in the U.S. Here’s Why It Took So Longhttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/asbestos-is-finally-banned-in-the-u-s-heres-why-it-took-so-long/<p>The carcinogenic effects of asbestos have been known for decades. We should have banned it long ago</p>Tue, 14 May 2024 13:00:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/asbestos-is-finally-banned-in-the-u-s-heres-why-it-took-so-long/Lifting the Veil on Near-Death Experienceshttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/lifting-the-veil-on-near-death-experiences/<p>What the neuroscience of near-death experiences tells us about human consciousness</p>Tue, 14 May 2024 13:00:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/lifting-the-veil-on-near-death-experiences/Readers Respond to the February 2024 Issuehttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/readers-respond-to-the-february-2024-issue/<p>Letters to the editors for the February 2024 issue of <i>Scientific American</i></p>Tue, 14 May 2024 13:00:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/readers-respond-to-the-february-2024-issue/Revolutionary Genetics Research Shows RNA May Rule Our Genomehttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/revolutionary-genetics-research-shows-rna-may-rule-our-genome/<p>Scientists have recently discovered thousands of active RNA molecules that can control the human body</p>Tue, 14 May 2024 13:00:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/revolutionary-genetics-research-shows-rna-may-rule-our-genome/Book Review: Your Life Is Ruled by Games You Don’t Even Know You’re Playinghttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/book-review-your-life-is-ruled-by-games-you-dont-even-know-youre-playing/<p>Our overreliance on the simplicity of game logic explains why capitalism got out of control</p>Tue, 14 May 2024 13:00:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/book-review-your-life-is-ruled-by-games-you-dont-even-know-youre-playing/After Brewing Beer, Yeast Can Help Recycle Metals from E-wastehttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/after-brewing-beer-yeast-can-help-recycle-metals-from-e-waste/<p>This beer-making by-product could offer a sustainable way to isolate metals for recycling electronic waste</p>Tue, 14 May 2024 13:00:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/after-brewing-beer-yeast-can-help-recycle-metals-from-e-waste/We Learn and Make Connections Better When Information Comes from People We Likehttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/we-learn-and-make-connections-better-when-information-comes-from-people-we/<p>The way we&rsquo;re &ldquo;wired&rdquo; to learn may divide us</p>Tue, 14 May 2024 13:00:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/we-learn-and-make-connections-better-when-information-comes-from-people-we/Why Insects Are Lured to Lights in the Nighthttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-insects-are-lured-to-lights-in-the-night/<p>Moths and other insects aren&rsquo;t drawn to nighttime illumination for the reasons we think they are</p>Tue, 14 May 2024 13:00:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-insects-are-lured-to-lights-in-the-night/Adolescent Anxiety Is Hard to Treat. New Drug-Free Approaches May Helphttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/adolescent-anxiety-is-hard-to-treat-new-drug-free-approaches-may-help/<p>Research on the developing brain points to new ways to help young people with anxiety disorders</p>Tue, 14 May 2024 13:00:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/adolescent-anxiety-is-hard-to-treat-new-drug-free-approaches-may-help/Contributors to Scientific American’s June 2024 Issuehttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/contributors-to-scientific-americans-june-2024-issue/<p>Writers, artists, photographers and researchers share the stories behind the stories</p>Tue, 14 May 2024 13:00:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/contributors-to-scientific-americans-june-2024-issue/Is Cold-Water Swimming Good for You?https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-cold-water-swimming-good-for-you/<p>Though sometimes overstated, the benefits of cold-water swimming are slowly becoming clearer</p>Tue, 14 May 2024 13:00:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-cold-water-swimming-good-for-you/Humans Are Driving a New Kind of Evolution in Animalshttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/humans-are-driving-a-new-kind-of-evolution-in-animals/<p>Anthropogenic evolution is affecting species across the planet</p>Tue, 14 May 2024 13:00:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/humans-are-driving-a-new-kind-of-evolution-in-animals/Poem: ‘Chrysalis’https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/poem-chrysalis/<p>Science in meter and verse</p>Tue, 14 May 2024 13:00:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/poem-chrysalis/Grizzly Bears Will Finally Return to Washington State. Humans Aren’t Sure How to Greet Themhttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/grizzly-bears-will-finally-return-to-washington-state-humans-arent-sure-how/<p>After decades of debate, grizzlies will be reintroduced to the North Cascades</p>Tue, 14 May 2024 13:00:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/grizzly-bears-will-finally-return-to-washington-state-humans-arent-sure-how/Stolen Bacterial Genes Helped Whiteflies to Become the Ultimate Pestshttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/stolen-bacterial-genes-helped-whiteflies-to-become-the-ultimate-pests/<p>Rather than relying on bacteria, whiteflies cut out the middleman and acquired their own genes to process nitrogen</p>Tue, 14 May 2024 13:00:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/stolen-bacterial-genes-helped-whiteflies-to-become-the-ultimate-pests/Patients Fare Better When They Get Palliative Care Sooner, Not Laterhttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/patients-fare-better-when-they-get-palliative-care-sooner-not-later/<p>Supportive care is often started late in an illness, but that may not be the best way</p>Tue, 14 May 2024 13:00:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/patients-fare-better-when-they-get-palliative-care-sooner-not-later/Book Review: Rats, Gardens, and Stories from a "Post-Impact" Future https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/three-new-books-reviewed/<p>Rats as you&rsquo;ve never seen them; the journey of restoring a garden; stories from a &ldquo;post-Impact&rdquo; future</p>Tue, 14 May 2024 13:00:00 +0000https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/three-new-books-reviewed/