Knowledge of how the brain intuits what someone else is thinking helps Rebecca Saxe devise possible solutions to seemingly intractable political and social conflicts
By Gareth Cook | 15 hours ago
At the driest place on Earth, one astronomer sifts through starlight to find clues about the Milky Way's evolution. Here is her account of a typical trip, based on four days in March 2011
By Anna Frebel | Nov 28, 2012 | 1
Quantum theorists often speak of the world as being pointillist at the smallest scales. Yet a closer look at the laws of nature suggests that the physical world is actually continuous—more analog than digital
By David Tong | Nov 26, 2012 | 33
The pharmaceutical industry funnels money to prominent scientists who are doing research that affects its products--and nobody can stop it
By Charles Seife | Nov 21, 2012 | 32
10 innovations that are radical enough to alter our lives
By The Editors , Ferris Jabr , Katherine Harmon , Emily Laber-Warren , David Biello , Daisy Yuhas , Adam Piore , Christopher Mims , Marissa Fessenden and John Carey | Nov 14, 2012 | 20
Children of scientists and engineers may inherit genes that not only confer intellectual talents but also predispose them to autism
By Simon Baron-Cohen | Nov 9, 2012 | 11
Biologists have coaxed cells to form a retina, a step toward growing replacement organs outside the body
By Yoshiki Sasai | Nov 7, 2012 | 3
Quantum theory once seemed like the last nail in the coffin of pure reason. Now it's looking like its savior
By George Musser | Nov 5, 2012 | 29
Recent fossil discoveries reveal the surprising evolutionary history of penguins
By R. Ewan Fordyce and Daniel T. Ksepka | Oct 31, 2012
Loss of ice, melting of permafrost and other climate effects are occurring at an alarming pace
By John Carey | Oct 29, 2012 | 139
What if the smallest bits of matter actually harbor an undiscovered world of particles?
By Don Lincoln | Oct 22, 2012 | 46
The United States faced down authoritarian governments on the left and right. Now it may be facing an even greater challenge from within
By Shawn Lawrence Otto | Oct 17, 2012 | 325
Scientific American rates the candidates' answers to 14 science questions
By The Editors | Oct 17, 2012 | 20
We can learn a lot from psychopaths. Certain aspects of their personalities and intellect are often hallmarks of success
By Kevin Dutton | Oct 12, 2012 | 46
The rise of China and India bodes well for science, says British Royal Society president Paul Nurse
By Fred Guterl | Oct 11, 2012
YES! Send me a free issue of Scientific American with no obligation to continue the subscription. If I like it, I will be billed for the one-year subscription.