The Sciences
Magnetic Yeast
"In biology, magnetism is a unique and virtually orthogonal physical property." Only a few organisms can actively sense and utilize magnetic fields.
Oscillator
Notes, thoughts, and news on synthetic biology.
Health
DNA Nanorobots
An awesome paper from Shawn Douglas, Ido Bachelet, and George Church at the Wyss Institute uses DNA origami to create nanorobots that can target and kill cancer cells in a population of healthy cells...
The Sciences
How To Genetically Modify Yogurt
Tuur van Balen gives a provocative how-to presentation at the Next Nature Power Show, showing how to use the Synthetic Biology Parts Registry to engineer yogurt bacteria to produce prozac: Van Balen is a designer whose work explores the boundary between art and science in synthetic biology...
The Sciences
Self Defense
I recently saw a really fun talk by Amisha Gadani, an artist in residence here at UCLA in the Alfaro Lab. Her recent work is a playful exploration of animal self-defense mechanisms incorporated into fashionable cocktail dresses...
The Sciences
Multicellularity
One of my new obsessions is bacterial multicellularity. Single celled micro-organisms are constantly interacting with their neighbors, from individuals of the same species to cells from different domains of life, forming complex biofilm patterns, complex nutritional symbioses, and complex clumps...
The Sciences
Microcartography
Feet smell like feet and armpits smell like armpits because they each harbor unique species of bacteria with unique metabolisms that produce unique volatiles.
The Sciences
Bacillus subtilis for Missoni
Bacteria grow by dividing in half, their population doubling in size as fast as every twenty minutes. In a few short hours, a bacterial culture can go from a single cell to billions, and from being invisible to the naked eye to forming dense colonies on a petri dish, sometimes centimeters across...
Environment
Nitrogen Fixation
I'm haunted by one of the stories in the latest episode of Radiolab, can't get it out of my head. Like everyone else, I love Radiolab and often sprinkle stories I learned from the show into cocktail party conversation (do I go to nerdy cocktail parties or do I make cocktail parties nerdy?), but the Bad Show was especially gripping, in particular the story of Fritz Haber...
The Sciences
The Essence of Taste
Over the holidays my husband has been experimenting with Japanese cooking, and as various broths simmered on the stove and our collection of soy-based pastes and sauces expanded, my love affair with MSG was rekindled...
The Sciences
Nurturing Next Nature
Nature is a slippery word. Nature is the opposite of culture but "natural" behaviors are culturally expected from us. Nature is serene and wholesome, but nature is red in tooth and claw...
Blog Index
@ScientificAmerican
STAFFBehind the scenes at Scientific American
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Anecdotes from the Archive
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Anthropology in Practice
Exploring the human condition.
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Beautiful Minds
Insights into intelligence, creativity, personality, and well-being
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Budding Scientist
Everything you always wanted to know about raising science-literate kids
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Cross-Check
Critical views of science in the news
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Dark Star Diaries
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Dog Spies
Explore the science behind the dog in your bed
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Extinction Countdown
News and research about endangered species from around the world
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Eye of the Storm
The Science Behind Extreme Weather
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Frontiers for Young Minds
Science by and for kids ages 8-15
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Guest Blog
Commentary invited by editors of Scientific American
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Hot Planet
Climate science in a changing world
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Illusion Chasers
Illusions, Delusions, and Everyday Deceptions
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Life, Unbounded
Discussion and news about planets, exoplanets, and astrobiology
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Observations
Opinion, arguments & analyses from guest experts and from the editors of Scientific American
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Roots of Unity
Mathematics: learning it, doing it, celebrating it.
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Rosetta Stones
Adventures in the good science of rock-breaking.
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SA Visual
STAFFIllustrating science since 1845
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Talking back
STAFFA science blog, sans blague
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The Artful Amoeba
A Blog About the Weird Wonderfulness of Life on Earth
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Voices
Exploring and celebrating diversity in science.
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