This Filipina Physicist Helped Develop a Top Secret Weapon
Emma Unson Rotor worked on the proximity fuze, a groundbreaking piece of World War II weapons technology that the U.S. War Department called “second only to the atomic bomb.”
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Cats Play Fetch, Too--But Only on Their Own Terms
Retrieving isn’t just for dogs, but the emerging science of cat play can’t fully explain the feline phenomenon -
A Rare Visual Disorder Twists Faces Out of Shape
New studies unlock the mysteries of prosopometamorphopsia, a disorder that distorts faces. One woman’s condition improves when she wears orange-tinted glasses -
Buying Used Tech This Holiday Season Can Avert Human Rights Abuses
Here’s how to buy ethical tech and keep conflict minerals in the ground -
Dog 'Language Geniuses' Are Rare but Apparently Real
A subset of exceptional pooches can identify by name more than 100 different objects, mostly toys -
How To Keep AI From Stealing the Sound of Your Voice
A new technology called AntiFake prevents the theft of the sound of your voice by making it more difficult for AI tools to analyze vocal recordings -
Road Map for U.S. Particle Physics Wins Broad Approval
A major report plotting the future of U.S. particle physics calls for cuts to the beleaguered DUNE project, advocates a “muon shot” for a next-generation collider and recommends a new survey of the universe’s oldest observable light -
This Flying Frog Spends Its Youth Masquerading as Poop
These froglets disguise themselves as feces to gross out potential predators until they’re old enough to glide through jungle canopies -
Male Songbirds Need Daily Vocal Practice to Woo Females
Birds might sing in the morning because they need a vocal workout -
Cats Kill a Staggering Number of Species across the World
Domestic cats are cherished human companions, but a new study shows the enormous breadth of species the felines prey on when they are left to roam freely -
Green Glow of 'Mesospheric Ghosts' Decoded
Mysterious green displays in the sky dubbed “mesospheric ghosts” can sometimes accompany the dramatic red atmospheric lights called sprites -
Subterranean 'Microbial Dark Matter' Reveals a Strange Dichotomy
The genes of microbes living as deep as 1.5 kilometers below the surface reveal a split between minimalist and maximalist lifestyles -
Why Do We Dream? Maybe to Ensure We Can Literally 'See' the World upon Awakening
A theory holds that dreams are a way for the visual cortex of the brain to “defend its turf” against being “taken over” to process inputs from other senses -
Tyrannosaur's Stomach Contents Have Been Found for the First Time
The fossilized stomach contents of a tyrannosaur have been found for the first time, revealing what the fearsome predator ate -
Ultrasound Enables Remote 3-D Printing--Even in the Human Body
For the first time, researchers have used sound waves to 3-D print an object from a distance—even with a wall in the way -
Betelgeuse Will Briefly Disappear in Once-in-a-Lifetime Coincidence
For six seconds tonight, the constellation Orion will appear to lose the vibrant red star at its shoulder—and scientists are thrilled -
Tyrannosaur's Stomach Contents Have Been Found for the First Time
The fossilized stomach contents of a tyrannosaur have been found for the first time, revealing what the fearsome predator ate -
FDA Approves First CRISPR Gene Editing Treatment for Sickle Cell Disease
Most people with sickle cell disease who received a new gene editing treatment saw their pain resolve for at least one year, but longer follow up is needed -
55 Books Scientific American Recommends in 2023
The best fiction, nonfiction, history and sci-fi books Scientific American staff read in 2023 -
Astronomers Spy First Star-Forming Disk beyond the Milky Way
No one has ever seen a newborn star feeding on its natal disk anywhere outside our galaxy—that is, until now
