Hunger in Gaza Could Affect Survivors’ Health for Decades
Epigenetics research reveals how famines can cause health problems later in life—and how those changes might be passed down to future generations.
Hunger in Gaza Could Affect Survivors’ Health for Decades
Epigenetics research reveals how famines can cause health problems later in life—and how those changes might be passed down to future generations.
What Do You Mean, Bisexual People Are ‘Risk-Taking’? Why Genetic Studies about Sexuality Can Be Fraught
A recent study on risk-taking and bisexuality made assumptions that some experts don’t agree with.
This Astrophysicist Makes Stellar Nurseries That Fit in the Palm of Your Hand
How artist and astrophysicist Nia Imara makes 3-D prints of the birth of stars
How to Save Indigenous Languages
From Papua New Guinea to the Andaman Islands, Indigenous languages are under threat. An Indian linguist helped preserve one language family.
Can AI Predict Your Death?
A new study used machine learning to “autocomplete” the life trajectories of six million Danish people—and forecast when they might kick the bucket.
Podcasts of the Year: Cleo, the Mysterious Math Menace
In 2013 a new user named Cleo took an online math forum by storm with unproved answers. Today she’s an urban legend. But who was she? A 2023 editor's pick.
AI Can Now Read Your Cat’s Pain
Thanks to researchers, new AI tech is delving into feline feelings to see when cats could need medical help.
How Misinformation Spreads through Conflict
Three experts break down how misinformation and propaganda spread through conflict and how to debunk it yourself.
Generative AI Models Are Sucking Up Data from All Over the Internet, Yours Included
In the rush to build and train ever larger AI models, developers have swept up much of the searchable Internet, quite possibly including some of your own public data—and potentially some of your private data as well.
Space Manufacturing is Not Science Fiction
A Stanford researcher is growing crystals on the International Space Station and electronics to withstand the extreme environments of Venus.
In War-Torn Ukraine, a Doctor Evacuates Children with Cancer
A pediatric oncologist is racing against time to send scores of sick children out of Ukraine for medical aid.
In This Ancient Garden, Plants Can Cure or Kill You
Apothecaries founded this famous garden—one of the most ancient botanical gardens in Europe—to teach their students which plants poison and which plants cure.
Racism in Health: The Roots of the U.S. Black Maternal Mortality Crisis
What is behind the Black maternal mortality crisis, and what needs to change? In this podcast from Nature and Scientific American, leading academics unpack the racism at the heart of the system.
The Fungi Economy, Part 3: Can Climate Modeling from Space Save Our Forests?
Here’s how scientists are planning on getting underground fungi data from space using satellites.
The Fungi Economy, Part 2: Here’s How Plants and Fungi Trade beneath Our Feet
Atmospheric carbon is a currency that plants use to “buy” nutrients from fungi in the soil. To find out where this economy will go next, the devil is in the details. And the details are in the dirt.
The Fungi Economy, Part 1: Just like Us, Trees Are Experiencing Inflation
Like us, plants and fungi have complex economies. By burning fossil fuels, we’ve been devaluing their currency.
Could Weight-Loss Drugs Curb Addiction? Your Health, Quickly, Episode 12
Drugs such as Wegovy and Ozempic might help people tackle substance abuse as well as shed pounds.
How to Roll a Joint Perfectly, according to Science
Scientists used a smoking machine—complete with a 3-D-printed mouthpiece—to figure out how to get the most cannabinoid per puff.
Here’s Why Actors Are So Worried about AI
Here’s what’s behind the A.I technology that has worried so many actors—including something called “the orb.”
The Universe Is Abuzz with Giant Gravitational Waves, and Scientists Just Heard Them (Maybe)
Researchers, using the galaxy as a detector, believe they have detected gravitational waves from monster black holes for the first time.
Poisons and Perils on the Salton Sea
Toxic dust plagues marginalized communities on the shores of this disappearing salt lake.
Cleo, the Mysterious Math Menace
In 2013 a new user named Cleo took an online math forum by storm with unproved answers. Today she’s an urban legend. But who was she?
Why We’re Worried about Generative AI
From the technology upsetting jobs and causing intellectual property issues to models making up fake answers to questions, here’s why we’re concerned about generative AI.
Is Time Travel Even Possible?
Two SciAm editors duke it out to see if wormholes and multiverses could in fact exist.