Scientific American

Awesome discoveries. Expert insights. Science that shapes the world.

[Scientific American @sciam]

We all know dwarfs can be Sleepy, Grumpy or Dopey. But in space, dwarfs might be better called Hungry—dwarf stars, that is.
https://t.co/RktQDlMQ7e

[Scientific American @sciam]

“Poop maxxing,” or more politely, “fiber maxxing,” is everywhere online. But should you be doing more to look after your gut? Experts explain what’s healthy.
https://t.co/GAUTr48l8x

[Scientific American @sciam]

BREAKING: The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded to Karl Deisseroth, Georg Nagel and Peter Hegemann for their discovery of rhodopsin and optogenetics, the ability to control cells using light and genetics.https://t.co/i6qAuEQjJ0

[Scientific American @sciam]

AI companion apps are becoming increasingly popular, but what kind of relationship do they offer? An attachment theory expert explains
https://t.co/oIBfli36Ce

[Scientific American @sciam]

Is there a biological reason that humans must die? And if not, could we one day live forever?
https://t.co/Bnul0rer8j

[Scientific American @sciam]

Our brains use the same machinery to reconstruct the past as we do to imagine the future—and to imagine what might have been. Philosopher Felipe De Brigard, a 2026 MacArthur “genius grant” recipient, explains how memory and imagination become intertwined.
https://t.co/OjnnuFmqjQ

[Scientific American @sciam]

The ancient pre-Roman society of Etruria in Italy embedded sound throughout its culture. Now, researchers are harnessing AI and acoustic technology to bring some of that to life
https://t.co/BRZKLs9oIY

[Scientific American @sciam]

Will we ever find the final building block of nature? How can we truly know if we’ve drilled down as far as the subatomic layers go?
https://t.co/AhtQMSmkdo

[Scientific American @sciam]

Tom Cruise’s new movie Digger features a giant iceberg named Judy that imperils Europe. But is that even a likely scenario? We asked the experts
https://t.co/pzuS9Y9mec

[Scientific American @sciam]

Will the U.S. see its hottest year ever recorded? We spoke with climate scientists to break down the odds:
https://t.co/k7rflfuMPY

[Scientific American @sciam]

Scientists are still struggling to explain a bizarre neutrino that crashed to Earth in February 2023—and one explanation is as bizarre as the event itself, invoking primordial black holes, extra “dark” dimensions, and strange cosmic strings.
https://t.co/K3L1iCAfGj

[Scientific American @sciam]

Pioneer Labs CEO Erika DeBenedictis hopes to see Mars turning green in her lifetime. To do that, she’s bioengineered a bacterium that can pump out bioplastic in Martian conditions—the first of several steps she envisions for terraforming the Red Planet.
https://t.co/cycqbwn9FF

[Scientific American @sciam]

Most scientists fall into two main camps when it comes to the origins of life—either “Metabolism First” and “RNA First.” One idea that has fallen out of favor is that space rocks may have seeded life on this planet. Hydrothermal vents as an origin site are also losing popularity. Which origin of life theory do you like best? Do you think we'll find life on other planets before we figure out how life arose on Earth?

[Scientific American @sciam]

Can we truly know the origins of our planet’s life, or will we at best be able to find only plausible possibilities?
https://t.co/EzxUElgRwb

[Scientific American @sciam]

Astronomers hunting life in the cosmos could use a rainbow connection. Future space telescopes should be able to glimpse rainbows and other atmospheric phenomena on small rocky exoplanets, learning more about those worlds’ habitability in the process.
https://t.co/Vz0MumhDZD

[Scientific American @sciam]

Mathematicians have come up with a new list of the 50 most pressing problems in their field. Here are some of the quandaries.
https://t.co/0obIS5UbFF

[Scientific American @sciam]

SpaceX on Thursday launched a Google satellite loaded with the company's AI chips. Project Suncatcher is aimed at seeing how those chips, and a new system to cool them, fare in the harsh environment of space.
https://t.co/kRFatN1RIa

[Scientific American @sciam]

Several times since the age of dinosaurs, the solid part of our planet has rolled over, drowning some continents and lifting others out of the sea. Incredibly, a new study finds this massive upheaval is still happening. Here's what you need to know
https://t.co/nejARu5Bqx

[Lee Billings @LeeBillings]

Via @sciam: America’s disclosure of weapons in space is a long-awaited acknowledgement of “the worst-kept secret in the world,” a former U.S. official says.

What remains secret is what exactly these weapons are—and experts’ best guesses may surprise you.

https://t.co/0YFii50fWJ

[Scientific American @sciam]

Given how little we still know about possible life on Mars, relaxing biological contamination constraints now is "idiocy," say Cassie Conley, a former (and longest-serving) NASA Planetary Protection Officer.
https://t.co/Y7Rm1DMWrX