Now on @sciam.bsky.social: Reflect Orbital’s plan to deliver “sunlight on demand” using thousands of giant orbital mirrors is just the latest in a growing list of disruptive commercial activities in space. By @raminskibba.bsky.social. 🧪🔭 www.scientificamerican.com/article/alar...

The view from the @sciam.bsky.social offices is pretty spectacular at this time of year.

Now on @sciam.bsky.social: Astronomers are agog over this all-day gamma-ray burst. A cosmic explosion known as GRB 250702B is by far the longest gamma-ray burst astronomers have ever seen—if it’s even one at all. By @whereisyvette.bsky.social. www.scientificamerican.com/article/long...

Are we the only rational thinkers? New research on our primate cousins suggests otherwise

What would the world look like if we changed the value of pi? Doomguy can tell you. www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-...

Hurricane Melissa and the knotty problem of hurricane categories: 🧪 www.scientificamerican.com/article/does...

One of the cool things about my job: Where else is the most-read story of the day going to be about noperthedrons? www.scientificamerican.com/article/math...

Now on @sciam.bsky.social: Did astronomers photograph UFOs orbiting Earth in the 1950s, years before human activity there? New peer-reviewed studies suggest the answer is “yes,” but skeptics say these conclusions are premature. By @astrojonny.bsky.social. www.scientificamerican.com/article/did-...

How can reconstructing long-lost smells of ancient artifacts help us connect with the past?

This is only the second time we’ve had more than two Category 5 storms in a single Atlantic hurricane season

As cat 5 hurricane Melissa bears down on Jamaica, it is poised to be the worst storm to ever hit the Caribbean island, surpassing Hurricane Gilbert in 1988, which killed 49 people, destroyed 100,000 homes and did $700 million in damage www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-...

It says "Don't forget to drink your Ovaltine."

A comet visible to the naked eye will make its closest approach to Earth on October 21

In certain circumstances, losses create a sure path to victory, an idea with implications for biology and cancer therapy

Get a sneak peek at some of @sciam.bsky.social favorite books of the year on November 20th 7:30pm ET at @greenlightpod.bsky.social 📚 🆓 🎟️ www.eventbrite.com/e/the-scient...

We used @sciam.bsky.social's 180th anniversary as an excuse to revisit an old favorite. Familiar with the efficiency of locomotion chart from the March 1973 issue? Here it is again, reimagined for 2025 by DTAN Studio, w/text by @parshallison.bsky.social 📊 🧪 www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-hu...

Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE

The Nobel Prize in Physics for 2025 honors scaled-up quantum physics—while sidestepping controversies swirling around quantum computing

John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis shared the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics for their work showing how bizarre microscopic quantum effects can infiltrate our large-scale, everyday world

Our investigation into disappearance of Shiid-birood (“the iron rock”) reveals a journey of lies, smuggling and possibly death across the seamy world of black market collecting.

A new preprint field study reveals that New York City’s rats aren’t just survivors—they’re talkative city dwellers with their own hidden nightlife. Mapping their movements and conversations could offer insights to transform urban planning and pest control. www.scientificamerican.com/article/scie...

If an exciting Mars rock isn't your cuppa, try this news from (much) farther afield. Now on @sciam.bsky.social: The best-yet measurement of gravitational waves from merging black holes confirms theories from Einstein and Hawking. By @clarakm.bsky.social. www.scientificamerican.com/article/best...

Christopher Chambliss, Destiny Gordon and Jalen Robinson explain how their passions became a profession in the Students’ Journey into Sickle Cell Research at #Morehouse #FutureOfSickleCell

"To know sickle cell disease is to know medicine." Dr. Wally Smith, Florence Neal Cooper Smith Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, encourages #Morehouse School of Medicine students to study the science and join Sickle Cell warriors in their fight. #FutureofSickleCell

@sciam.bsky.social is at #Morehouse School of Medicine getting ready for a discussion on cutting-edge new treatments and the road to a cure for Sickle Cell disease. It's going to be a fascinating day, if you're in Atlanta come on by! #FutureOfSickleCell www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-future...

LAST CHANCE! 📸 Join the #SciAmInTheWild photo challenge! 🎁 You could win an Unlimited subscription to Scientific American—plus exclusive prizes for your next adventure. ⌛ Hurry! Contest ends September 5 at 11:59 p.m. ET ⚠️ Terms & Conditions apply. See rules for entry: sciam.com/180contest

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

U.S. States Start Sharp Divisions on Vaccines West Coast states are forming their own vaccine compact as Florida announces plans to ditch shot requirements for schoolchildren www.scientificamerican.com/article/u-s-...

We're 180, and it's a big deal that won't last forever. Offer ends 9/2/2025. 🔗 sciam.com/180birthday

“It’s not just about the firing of the CDC director. It’s the fact that CDC has been hemorrhaging some of the world’s top experts." I spoke to @jennifernuzzo.bsky.social and Georges Benjamin @apha.org about the CDC leadership exodus @sciam.bsky.social: www.scientificamerican.com/article/cdc-...

In the search for life beyond Earth, the only constant is hope

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

Scientific American has been an advocate for science since 1845, and right now is the most critical moment in that two-century history. So this weekend we're asking you to stand up for science by supporting us, and we're giving you a giant discount: Just $18! www.scientificamerican.com/getsciam/

Sigh, *taps the sign again*

Do you fall for the Müller-Lyer optical illusion? Psychologists had long thought that it depends on your cultural background—the famous "carpentered-world" hypothesis. Now, that hypothesis is widely disputed. Here's why. 🧪 by @norabradford.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/does...

In honor of SciAm’s 180th birthday, we’re spotlighting the biggest “wait, what?” moments in science history.

The brilliant thing about War of the Worlds is how the first 30 minutes lull you into thinking the reviews are exaggerated, and then the President says "I see no other option but to initiate this war of the worlds" and it's the verbal component of a spell that summons the dumbest movie ever made.

In the new issue of #ScientificAmerican: Remarkable new treatments can free millions of kids and adults from the deadly threat of peanut allergy, tackling one of our fastest-growing medical problems. www.scientificamerican.com/article/new-...

The search for extraterrestrial life has periodically been turned upside down

Hurricane Erin is churning up rip currents up and down the East Coast this week. @meghanbartels.bsky.social explains the physics of these dangerous currents, how hurricanes can generate them from hundreds of miles away and the evolving advice on what to do if you're caught in one.

My first "From the Editor" letter at @sciam.bsky.social rounds up some of the amazing stories in our 180th birthday issue, and highlights our cover story about a potential cure for food allergies! www.scientificamerican.com/article/180-...

"Leo Uesaka, a seabird biologist at the University of Tokyo, noticed that his cameras were recording an awful lot of midair pooping. It was time to change his research project." www.scientificamerican.com/article/thes...

Algorithmic social media is driving the creation of new slang at a breakneck pace. Linguist Adam Aleksic, also known as the Etymology Nerd, explains how

Now on @sciam.bsky.social: While the Trump administration is ordering NASA to build a lunar nuclear reactor, it's also proposing cuts that'd end NASA's nuclear-powered exploration of the solar system. Will Congress push back? By @hannah-richter.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/trum...

Brain-computer interfaces + ‪@dodecalemma.bsky.social = a must read.

For anyone who has ever mistyped their credit card number, immediately gotten an "invalid number" message, and thought "but how did they KNOW?"...here is the answer, you're welcome www.scientificamerican.com/article/what...

This telescope has revealed the whipped-up dust from the birth of a star—and a shining background galaxy—more clearly than ever before

Got to go on @benriggs.bsky.social podcast and talk to @dme.bsky.social‬ about D&D and Mothership. I had a great time, it was a great conversation. Give it a listen if you're interested. www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rCB...

“The dogs, because of their amazing sense of smell and detection capabilities, are demonstrating to us what technology could look like 10 to 15 years from now.” www.scientificamerican.com/article/pess...

"Federal officials seized 3,000 copies of Scientific American in 1950 in a 'red scare' era of attacks on science. The move backfired, and offers lessons for today." www.scientificamerican.com/article/u-s-... By @danvergano.bsky.social @sciam.bsky.social