Scientific American Content: Global

Every Atlantic hurricane that formed this year had higher wind speeds because of climate change. Two likely would have remained tropical storms without its influence

The sixth test flight of SpaceX’s giant rocket ended with a fiery splashdown rather than a clean “chopstick” catch

Trumps retreat from climate agreements and tech funding will help China dominate global clean energy markets

Sweeping reorganization and more research scrutiny could be on the way for the U.S. National Institutes of Health

A social scientist looks at the portrait of U.S. voters, and voting, in the aftermath of the 2024 presidential election that put Trump into the White House

Researchers directed electric current to activate targeted facial muscles and then asked study participants how they felt

A study of births in New Jersey reveals a troubling disparity between unscheduled C-sections for Black people.

A major windstorm and an atmospheric river are set to unleash a “firehose” of precipitation from California to British Columbia

Forests absorb planet-warming pollution, but world leaders shouldn’t include them in plans to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, a new study recommends

Prominent vaccine skeptic RFK, Jr., is a proven menace to public health. But with a bird flu outbreak looming, he is poised to take a perch atop the federal public health enterprise

Play this crossword inspired by the December 2024 issue of Scientific American

The far side of the moon offers grounds for compromise between advocates and opponents of lunar development

The fossil-fuel industry argues that we can’t live without its deadly products. It is wrong

Science in meter and verse

U.N. statistics show progress toward the goal of gender equality but a long way left to go

Changing the ocean’s chemical and biological makeup could force it to pull vast amounts of planet-warming carbon from the atmosphere. But is that a line we want to cross?

Censoring what children read deprives them of reality and the chance to feed their curiosity and develop empathy

Intense health anxiety is a true mental illness and threatens lives. The good news is that it’s treatable

Oil rigs around the world are habitats for marine species. When they stop producing oil, should they be removed or allowed to stay?

Mathematicians have found a new kind of shape with connections to nature and art

How are these numbers organized?

Alcohol in space; basking in the limelight

In End of the World and Hard-Boiled Wonderland, the title is flipped, but cyberpunk pleasures remain

Understanding curiosity can help people—and robots—learn faster

New diagnostic techniques can pick up these brain injuries and ensure people get help

Archaeological and genetic discoveries topple long-standing ideas about the domestication of equines

Oak trees have genetic flexibility that allows them to solve ecological problems. But even they will need our help to survive climate change

Discovering weird new shapes, turning oil rigs into reefs and making the ocean absorb more greenhouse gases

Writers, artists, photographers and researchers share the stories behind the stories

Letters to the editors for the July/August 2024 issue of Scientific American

The nearby star Vega, featured in the 1997 movie Contact, appears to have a smooth disk devoid of giant planets for reasons we can’t explain

A unique crystalline compound soaks up CO₂ with great efficiency

Chris Wright, CEO of a fracking services company and Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Energy, has said “there is no climate crisis”

Food anxiety can peak during the holidays. Here’s how to manage it and enjoy yourself

Lizards in France have grown lighter in color and so are many insects and birds across the globe. The effects of a changing climate are plainly visible throughout the animal kingdom

A serious bird flu infection in Canada, a troubling projection of future plastic waste and dispatches from a global climate convention.

Four counties in Florida that voted for Trump also voted to conserve open space, reduce flood damage and protect habitat

In 1974 we beamed a radio transmission into space that changed the way we think about our place in the cosmos

Anglerfish have invisible fangs, narwhal tusks are extra-long canines, and more facts from the weird and wonderful study of teeth will astound you

A genetic mutation makes some cats’ tail curl over their back, giving them something akin to an accent when they communicate with other kitties

The Chandra X-ray Observatory is facing closure. Shutting it down would be a loss to science as a whole

Finding a perfect sphere is actually pretty difficult

On the 50th anniversary of the “Arecibo message,” we present a reflection on humankind’s first attempt to send a transmission to intelligent life in the cosmos.

Federal health scientists voice concern over an anticipated takeover by medical skeptics in Trump’s second administration

Wastewater in several Californian cities, including San Francisco and Los Angeles, recently tested positive for bird flu. But understanding disease risk and exposure to humans isn’t so straightforward

Visual artist Anna Von Mertens looks to astronomer Henrietta Swan Leavitt and her vision of the universe for inspiration

Generative AI could saddle the planet with heaps more hazardous waste

Thawing ice, from the high peaks to the poles, is producing extraordinarily expensive floods, infrastructure damage and losses to tourism and fishing

Examining body camera videos at scale reveals racial differences in how police treat drivers during traffic stops—and what corrective programs really work

President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security and its disaster agency has said people aren’t driving temperature increases and declined to accept federal climate money for disaster preparedness as governor of South Dakota