Observations

Opinion, arguments & analyses from guest experts and from the editors of Scientific American

Zombie Tits, Ungifted and Animal Wise Authors Win Scientific American s Summer Reading Poll

Join our G+ Hangout On Air at noon today (Friday, July 26) with the three winning authors, here:G+ Hangout on Air with Virginia Morell, Rebecca Crew and Scott Barry Kaufman, hosted by SA blogger Joanne Manaster The votes are in for Scientific American’s poll in which we asked readers to choose their favorite authors from our list of the best summer science books of 2013.We are excited to announce our three winners! Becky Crew, author of Zombie Tits, Astronaut Fish and other Weird CreaturesScott Barry Kaufman, author of Ungifted: Intelligence RedefinedVirginia Morell, author of Animal Wise: The Thoughts and Emotions of our Fellow CreaturesAll three authors are set to join us live for a Google Plus Hangout on Air at noon Eastern on Friday, July 26...

July 22, 2013 — Bryan Bumgardner

Space

Cassini Spacecraft Takes 1 Last Look at Home Today

For a quarter-hour today, some of us on Earth can look up and know that almost a billion miles away, above the sky, a set of robotic eyes is looking right back .

July 19, 2013 — Lee Billings

Health

5 (Scientific) Reasons to Stay Single This Summer

Photo credit: Flickr/blgrssby For better or worse, humans do not have a distinct “mating season.” Healthy females ovulate every month, which means that mating too can take place any time of year...

July 19, 2013 — Caitlin Shure

Health

President Touts "Obamacare" Benefits, Return of $504 Million to Consumers This Summer

In an effort to rally support for healthcare reforms under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), President Barack Obama spoke today about how one requirement of his flagship law is already putting money back in Americans’ wallets...

July 18, 2013 — Dina Fine Maron

Sustainability

Wildfires, Already out of Control, Could Increase Sixfold

Wildfires are rampant this year. They broke out earlier than ever in California. In June, nineteen firefighters lost their lives in a hellish Arizona blaze.

July 18, 2013 — Mark Fischetti

Space

Neptune s New Moon May Be Named after One of Sea God s Monstrous Children

This past Monday, the planet Neptune officially got a new moon, a relatively tiny chunk of rock and ice about as wide as Manhattan is long. The object is currently dubbed S/2004 N 1, and it’s the fourteenth now known to circle that distant icy world...

July 18, 2013 — Lee Billings

Evolution

Bizarre New Texas Longhorn Dinosaur Bolsters Controversial Theory of Dino Diversity

A newly unearthed dinosaur has been called the "Texas longhorn" of its family tree, and it's not hard to see why: Nasutoceratops titusi , a relative of the famous Triceratops, sported 3.5-foot-long horns, measured 15 feet long from nose to tail, and weighed 2.5 tons...

July 17, 2013 — Bryan Bumgardner

Sustainability

Anatomy of One of Canada s Worst and Most Costly Natural Disasters

Canadian officials taking stock of the deluge that occurred in mid-June in Alberta have started to characterize it as the worst flood in the province’s history.

July 17, 2013 — Arielle Duhaime-Ross

Space

Satellite Gets First Look at Sun s Tail

Astronomers just got their first good look in the solar system’s rearview mirror. What they see is a magnetic tail that twists like a corkscrew.Although we tend to think of the sun as stationary with the planets orbiting about it, in fact the solar system is plowing through the galaxy at a million miles per hour...

July 15, 2013 — Christopher Crockett

Sustainability

Toxic Burn Pits at U.S. Marine Base in Afghanistan Threaten Health

Open-air pits in which toxic materials are burned are still being used at bases in Afghanistan, new data suggests.A report from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction warns that at one 13,500-person Marine base in Helmand province in Afghanistan U.S...

July 11, 2013 — Dina Fine Maron

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Zombie Tits, Ungifted and Animal Wise Authors Win Scientific American s Summer Reading Poll

Cassini Spacecraft Takes 1 Last Look at Home Today

5 (Scientific) Reasons to Stay Single This Summer

President Touts "Obamacare" Benefits, Return of $504 Million to Consumers This Summer

Wildfires, Already out of Control, Could Increase Sixfold

Neptune s New Moon May Be Named after One of Sea God s Monstrous Children

Bizarre New Texas Longhorn Dinosaur Bolsters Controversial Theory of Dino Diversity

Anatomy of One of Canada s Worst and Most Costly Natural Disasters

Satellite Gets First Look at Sun s Tail

Toxic Burn Pits at U.S. Marine Base in Afghanistan Threaten Health

Blog Index

@ScientificAmerican

Anecdotes from the Archive

Anthropology in Practice

Beautiful Minds

Budding Scientist

Cross-Check

Dark Star Diaries

Dog Spies

Extinction Countdown

Eye of the Storm

Frontiers for Young Minds

Guest Blog

Hot Planet

Illusion Chasers

Life, Unbounded

Observations

Roots of Unity

Rosetta Stones

SA Visual

Talking back

The Artful Amoeba

Voices