About the SA Blog Network  

Observations

Observations


Opinion, arguments & analyses from the editors of Scientific American
Observations HomeAboutContact
  • Profile

    From the editors and reporters of Scientific American , this blog delivers commentary, opinion and analysis on the latest developments in science and technology and their influence on society and policy. From reasoned arguments and cultural critiques to personal and skeptical takes on interesting science news, you'll find a wide range of scientifically relevant insights here. Follow on Twitter @sciam.
  • Can the “Urban Advantage” Bring Better Global Health As City Populations Skyrocket?

    urban health advantage cities population growth

    City dwellers are thought to be, on average, healthier than their rural counterparts. This so-called urban health advantage is usually attributed to better access to health care and improved overall infrastructure, such as clean water, safety and education. But many of the globe’s cities are already bursting and actually offer a far worse quality of [...]

    Keep reading »

    ShareShare

    What’s Smaller Than Mark Zuckerberg?

    Smaller Than Zuckerberg

    The Facebook IPO earlier this month left us a bit disappointed. There were financial and ethical let-downs. But the over-arching surprise is that people were misled in advance about the value of the company. Yes, it has assembled one of the world’s largest potential marketplaces, but beyond advertising, the social network still has no killer [...]

    Keep reading »

    ShareShare

    What Will Make Facebook’s Eduardo Saverin Happier: U.S. Citizenship or $67 Million?

    A big stack of $100 bills

    Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin has renounced his U.S. citizenship, reportedly to save an estimated $67 million on his tax bill (Saverin denies that the decision was based on financial considerations). The move has drawn the ire of Senators, academics and (especially) newspaper columnists, who view it as a cynical attempt to avoid paying his fair [...]

    Keep reading »

    ShareShare

    Once-Rare Butterfly Species Now Thrives, Thanks to Climate Change

    brown-argus-butterfly

    The once rare brown argus butterfly is on the move, expanding its range and numbers in the U.K.—and it’s all thanks to climate change. Thus far, the world’s climate has warmed roughly 0.8 degree Celsius over the course of the last century or so, thanks to a rise in greenhouse gas concentrations now approaching 400 [...]

    Keep reading »

    ShareShare

    Which of the Basic Assumptions of Modern Physics are Wrong? Announcing the 4th Foundational Questions Institute Essay Contest

    FQXI logo

    There’s something unnerving about unifying physics. The two theories that need to be unified, quantum field theory and Einstein’s general theory of relativity, are both highly successful. Both make predictions good to as many decimal places as experimentalists can manage. Both are grounded in compelling principles. Both do have flaws — including an unfortunate tendency to [...]

    Keep reading »

    ShareShare

    3 Science Questions to Ask U.S. Presidential Candidates

    As you may already be aware from my previous posts, The Guardian U.S. and NYU’s Studio 20 journalism lab have teamed up to push a project called The Citizens’ Agenda into the media discourse surrounding the U.S. presidential 2012 election. The idea: find out what you–the citizens–want the candidates to be discussing over the next [...]

    Keep reading »

    ShareShare

    Neuroscience and Magic: The Science of Stealing a Watch

    Apollo Robbins, a.k.a the “Gentleman Thief,” explains his technique of managing attentional spotlight during the Neuromagic 2012conference on the Island of Thought, San Simón, near Vigo, Spain, while demonstrating on neuroscientist Flip Phillips of Skidmore College. Attentional spotlight is the focus of consciousness at any given moment, and it can be directed–or, as in magic, [...]

    Keep reading »

    ShareShare

    Researchers Engineer Rewriteable Digital Data Storage in the DNA of Living Bacteria

    DNA

    Engineers have invented a way to store a single rewriteable bit of data within the chromosome of a living cell—a kind of cellular switch that offers precise control over how and when genes are expressed. For three years, Jerome Bonnet, Pakpoom Subsoontorn, and Drew Endy of Stanford University tinkered with the switch in Escherichia coli [...]

    Keep reading »

    ShareShare

    SpaceX Trying Again Early Tuesday to Reach International Space Station

    Falcon 9 rocket on the launchpad

    SpaceX’s history-making mission to the International Space Station is on hold, following a valve malfunction Saturday morning that caused a last-minute launch abort. But the California company says its rocket is now good to go and will be ready to launch in the early hours of Tuesday, May 22. If all goes as planned, SpaceX’s [...]

    Keep reading »

    ShareShare

    Amazing Video of Solar Eclipse Shows Sun’s Structure

    Eclipse showing the Sun's chromosphere

    This time-lapse video of Sunday’s solar eclipse highlights the Sun’s outer layers: The photographer Cory Poole constructed the video by pasting together 700 photographs taken with a Coronado Solar Max 60 Double Stack telescope. According to Jason Kottke, Poole used a filter that only allows light from hydrogen atoms moving from the 2nd excited state [...]

    Keep reading »

    ShareShare

    Account Linking

    Welcome, . Do you have an existing ScientificAmerican.com account?

    Yes, please link my existing account with for quick, secure access.



    Forgot Password?

    No, I would like to create a new account with my profile information.

    Create Account
    X