Biometrics

New research not only shows the predictive power of symmetry for athletic achievement but is a marker for overall genetic advantage

I’ve been mentioning R&D in talks and articles a lot lately. Most audiences outside the beltway don’t immediately know I mean Research and Development – until I explain it’s the part of our federal budget accounting for a good deal of “science stuff.” R&D supports basic research and leads to new innovation while helping boost [...]

Even as 3-D printing's impact on science, healthcare and consumer electronics grows, these devices aren't likely to find their way into your home anytime soon.

The brain is a dazzlingly complex web of somewhere around 100 billion neurons, each of which communicates with others through thousands of connections.

It’s no doubt that, with a repertoire of everything from colorful coral to a poisonous sea snake, the octopus could win any costume contest handily.

This blog is the first in a series of guest posts on technology and the brain to celebrate Scientific American Mind’s 10-year anniversary.

It’s no secret to Scientific American readers that we feel a special obligation to support the next generation of science enthusiasts, whom we hope to inspire both with our science coverage and our education initiatives, including the Scientific American Science in Action Award, powered by the Google Science Fair.

Editor's Note: Veteran science journalist Philip Hilts is working with a team of archeologists, engineers and divers off the shore of Antikythera, a remote Greek island, where a treasure ship by the same name sank in 70 B.C.

The discoveries that the brain has defined systems that track an animal’s whereabouts so it knows where it is (and where it was) as it makes its way about the world were honored on Oct.

This question was not proposed by a mad scientist bent on world doggie domination. The idea to see whether dogs follow life-sized videos is actually entirely sensible.

Robot octopuses can already walk, jet along and even grasp tools. But new advances have these machines swimming faster than ever. And thanks to the addition of soft, fleshy webs, they’re starting to look—and move—much more like the real thing, too.

Bob Dylan asked: "Are birds free from the chains of the skyway?" Sure, this is a metaphor (in Dylan's case, for a lost love) but it works because the complexities of avian flight—from migration and navigation to group dynamics—have long been a mystery, one with a preponderance of ideas, but few firm answers.