Scientific American Content: Global

Genetic-sequencing techniques have identified microorganisms that lived in the mouths of ancient mammoths

About 150 million years ago storm winds snapped bones in the wings of baby pterosaurs, sending them tumbling to their deaths in a muddy lagoon in what is now Germany

The first national study of its kind shows that children from marginalized communities are more exposed to extreme heat events

Researchers have finally traced the origin of the spotted ratfish’s bizarre forehead teeth, which are used for mating

Seeing and imagining use similar brain machinery. New research reveals the brain circuit that identifies what is real, which may help scientists understand conditions such as schizophrenia

Fresh treatments for rare skin diseases shift the focus from symptom management to repair and help children with such conditions live active lives

Researchers are hoping to trick the immune system into fighting back against the bane of adolescents everywhere

Card dealers create a unique deck with each shuffle, something computers cannot replicate

A community science project finds that modest reminders to find joy in the day can have benefits that are on par with those of more ambitious well-being interventions

Some black holes get extremely massive. Is there an upper limit to their growth?

With the CDC in disarray and its future uncertain, this episode explores what’s driving the exodus of agency staff and what this means for national health security.

On Thursday Senators grilled Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., about vaccines and turmoil at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Health experts responded to Kennedy’s claims on social media in disbelief and anger

The answer to this supposedly simple particle physics question isn’t so simple

Artificial-intelligence agents—touted as AI’s next wave—could be vulnerable to malicious code hidden in innocent-looking images on your computer screen

A type of bacteria found in clean rooms has an unexpected method of survival, with implications for planetary protection

West Coast states are forming their own vaccine compact as Florida announces plans to ditch shot requirements for schoolchildren

Spouses often share psychiatric diagnoses, according to an analysis of almost 15 million people in three countries

A map of DNA methylation changes in human organs—from the stomach to the retinas—could help researchers discover more targets for antiaging therapies

Our understanding of cosmology hinges on how well we know our own local universe, which remains poorly mapped and poorly understood

Hurricane forecast maps are more complex than they appear. Understanding them could change how you prepare for the next storm.

Winning more than $1 billion in Powerball is an exciting possibility, but keeping a cool math mind can help you decide whether that opportunity is worth your $2 bet

A cable design that sends light through air rather than solid glass could cut signal loss and make long-distance transmissions cheaper

A collection of seven book reviews from our archives, each paired with a recently published book we recommend

As AI grows more fluent in mimicking human empathy, language and memory, we’re left asking: If a machine can fake awareness so well, what exactly is the real thing?

Mathematicians have unraveled a key conjecture about knot theory

Our social voyeurism may have deep evolutionary roots

A machine-learning algorithm spotted signs of “covert consciousness” in coma patients—in some cases, days before doctors could do so

Hundreds of thousands of people are at risk of losing homes, businesses—and lives—as giant “gullies” expand into cities across Africa

The EPA fired five agency employees who signed a June declaration decrying moves that contradict science and undermine public health and issued removal notices to four more

Check out this collection of nonfiction and fiction books recommended by Scientific American

Scientists have revived an ignored area of math to envision a path toward stable quantum computing

Telling people exactly how voting security works helps defeat election misinformation, experiments suggest. But outside experts question how well that works in the real world

Surgeons think the first transplantation of a pig lung in a human is an exciting step forward for the field, but many questions remain open

Genetic and anatomical data reveal how the human pelvis acquired its unique shape, enabling our ancestors to walk on two legs

A survey of Scientific American’s century of quantum coverage helps explain the enduring popularity of strange physics

AI can transfer strange qualities through seemingly unrelated training—from a love of owls to something more dangerous

Superluminal velocities are common but illusory

Hurricane forecasts have made huge leaps since Katrina hit 20 years ago, but that progress is threatened by Trump administration cuts to research

Two decades after Katrina, we revisit the storm and discuss the evolution of hurricane preparedness since then.

Public health experts warn that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s leadership crisis—sparked by the White House’s efforts to oust CDC director Susan Monarez—could jeopardize national biosecurity, pandemic preparedness and disease outbreak surveillance

A deep-sea worm that lives in hydrothermal vents is the first known animal to create orpiment, a toxic, arsenic-containing mineral that was used by artists for centuries

Scientists and engineers have been implementing steps to better protect New Orleans, but recent government actions are undermining the work, raising alarm

Scientists treated a person’s type 1 diabetes with genetically modified insulin-producing cells that evaded immune system attacks. This is the first therapy for the condition that does not require immunosuppressant drugs

Bottom trawling is a fishing practice that is notoriously destructive to seafloor ecosystems. Now there’s growing evidence that it might unleash planet-warming carbon

Houseplants become rechargeable night-lights after injection with tiny phosphor particles

Many questions still surround COVID vaccine access this fall, but here’s what we know so far

This new “connectome” could bring researchers one step closer to understanding how nerves connect to organs throughout the body

Steep population declines in most countries are expected to have negative effects over the next several generations, but adaptation is possible

Deep-sea rocks packed with valuable metals may also be making oxygen in the deep, dark ocean—raising new questions about the cost of mining them.

Overcoming three recent failed tries, Elon Musk’s rocket company successfully flew its reusable jumbo booster and upper-stage Starship spacecraft