Scientific American

A mural of a cosmonaut outside a spacecraft in low-Earth orbit. The mural is on a wall inside a delapidated stairwell.

AstronomyMarch 3, 2026

After four years of war, Ukrainian astronomy is battered but unbroken

Russia’s war has left many of Ukraine’s world-class observatories in ruins—but the besieged nation’s astronomers already have plans to rebuild and recover

Paul M. Sutter

a dark red moon

Space & PhysicsMarch 3, 2026

Stunning photos reveal the ‘blood moon’ total lunar eclipse

Jackie Flynn Mogensen

A young man experiences stress during late night at work

Artificial IntelligenceMarch 3, 2026

AI was supposed to save coders time. It may be doing the opposite

Steven Melendez

A male macaque monkey with a stuffed animal monkey.

AnimalsMarch 3, 2026

Punch the monkey and his plushie re-create a famous psychological experiment

Mark Nielsen, The Conversation US

A robot hand reaches toward bubbles with letters in them

GamesMarch 4, 2026

Today’s Spellements

Emma R. Hasson

NEW MATH NEWSLETTER: PROOF POSITIVE. SIGN UP HERE!

Pink gut bacteria against a black background

MicrobiomeMarch 3, 2026

Fecal transplants from old mice boost fertility in younger ones

Claire Cameron

Man charging his electric vehicle in a snowy parking lot with mountains in the background

BatteriesMarch 3, 2026

A salt battery could make EVs more winterproof—if it holds up on the road

You Xiaoying

Holly Herndon standing indoors at Serpentine North Gallery in London, framed by a suspended circular sculptural structure, with brick walls in the background.

Artificial IntelligenceMarch 3, 2026

This musician built an AI clone of her voice so anyone can sing as her

Deni Ellis Béchard

Computer artwork representing a black hole against a starfield.

MathMarch 3, 2026

Are prime numbers hiding inside black holes?

Lyndie Chiou

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March 2026 Issue

Woman walking through a city scene wearing AI-enabled devices including glasses, an earbud, and a necklace pendant.

Artificial Intelligence

Inside the new AI world order: A special report

Eric Sullivan

Illustration of AI in clinical care, showing tech-driven clipboards

Artificial Intelligence

AI enters the exam room

Hilke Schellmann

Illustration of a person in a hoodie, covering their face, working on a computer ominously

Artificial Intelligence

A deepfake can ruin you before breakfast

Eric Sullivan

Grid of six images. Each panel holds a red glowing dot in a black field.

Astronomy

Exotic black hole stars could explain the mystery of Little Red Dots

Rebecca Boyle

View through a window into a living room. Three people are sitting on a couch in an animated conversation, with hands intertwined

Psychology

The truth about polyamory

Rebecca J. Lester

Image of new paleontological site

Paleontology

Mountain photographer stumbles on one of the largest ever collections of Triassic dinosaur prints

Humberto Basilio

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Games

A robot hand reaches toward bubbles with letters in them

Spellements

Create as many words as you can!

Illustration of a hand and multiple numbers against a purple background.

Math Puzzles

Stretch your math muscles with these puzzles.

A robot hand unleashes a swirl of puzzle pieces, crosswords, and circles with numbers and letters

All Games

Science inspired games, puzzles and quizzes

Special Edition

A number of suns floating with Red Blood cells

Health

Can sunlight cure disease?

Rowan Jacobsen

Pile of peanuts

Public Health

Can peanut allergies be cured?

Maryn McKenna

Illustration of a Vitamin D pill bottle with yellow balloons flying out of it, then being popped by a pin in a hand.

Public Health

How much vitamin D do you need to stay healthy?

Christie Aschwanden

Illustration of a row of human figures (minimialist in style—just outlines, even stick figures), each in a different rainbow color, with a row of vaccines (eg needle plus vial) above the row of humans.

Medicine

Personalized mRNA vaccines will revolutionize cancer treatment—if funding cuts don’t doom them

Rowan Moore Gerety

Illustration of a face, with an enlarged nasal cavity. Inside the nasal cavity are three health care professionals with nasal spray bottles and colorful patterns

Pharmaceuticals

New nasal vaccines offer better protection from COVID and flu—no needle needed

Stephani Sutherland

Illustration of a doctor in a white lab coat, using a bow and arrow.

Pharmaceuticals

These cancers were beyond treatment—but might not be anymore

Jyoti Madhusoodanan

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Podcasts

Illustration of a mother reindeer and calf

Women’s heart health worsens, NASA announces Artemis update, researchers solve reindeer antler mystery

Kendra Pierre-Louis, Sushmita Pathak, Alex Sugiura

An image of an elephant walking in a wildlife reserve.

ConservationFebruary 27, 2026

17-year-old cracks the code on poacher tracking

Melissa Hobson, Fonda Mwangi, Alex Sugiura, Kendra Pierre-Louis

An image of three people holding hands.

PsychologyFebruary 25, 2026

What science reveals about polyamorous relationships

Kendra Pierre-Louis, Rebecca J. Lester, Fonda Mwangi, Alex Sugiura

An image of a fossilized head crests of Spinosaurids mirabilis on sand

VaccinesFebruary 23, 2026

Desert dino find, flu shot U‑turn, universal vaxx hope, air toxin warning

Kendra Pierre-Louis, Lee Billings, Fonda Mwangi, Alex Sugiura

Illustration of a person ice skating on a frozen lake

Materials ScienceFebruary 20, 2026

We all know ice is slippery. The physics behind it is more complex than you’d think

Kendra Pierre-Louis, Sushmita Pathak, Fonda Mwangi, Marta Hill, Alex Sugiura

Discussions

Should most medicines be available without a prescription?

20View the Discussion

Do you think aliens are watching us?

19View the Discussion

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Popular Stories

Three skull shapes

Evolutionary BiologyMarch 2, 2026

Face of ancient human ancestor ‘Little Foot’ reconstructed for the first time

“Little Foot” is the most complete Australopithecus fossil ever found. And now we finally have an idea of what this group of ancient hominins looked like

Jackie Flynn Mogensen

Actor Matt Damon writing on a chalkboard in the movie Good Will Hunting

MathematicsMarch 1, 2026

Why mathematicians hate Good Will Hunting

This Oscar-winning classic set a surprisingly simple mathematical challenge

Manon Bischoff

A fish looks into the underwater camera.

EcologyMarch 2, 2026

Ring the Fish Doorbell to help migrating fish navigate a Dutch canal

A Dutch lock is closed for the spring, and its employees want you to tell them when migrating fish come knocking by ringing a digital doorbell

K. R. Callaway

Close-up of Neandertal exhibit

Evolutionary BiologyFebruary 26, 2026

Neanderthal and human interbreeding tended to follow a specific pattern

Interbreeding between Neanderthals and ancient anatomically modern humans primarily occurred between male Neanderthals and female humans, a new study suggests

Jackie Flynn Mogensen

a dark red moon

Space & PhysicsMarch 3, 2026

Stunning photos reveal the ‘blood moon’ total lunar eclipse

Don’t worry if you missed Tuesday’s total lunar eclipse. These images show the celestial marvel from around the world

Jackie Flynn Mogensen

A woman walks across the street in Granada, where Saharan dust has turned the sky orange.

WeatherMarch 2, 2026

Massive Saharan dust storm brings risk of ‘blood rain’ and fiery skies to southern Europe

Known as “La Calima,” this desert dust plume could hit Spain, Portugal and France, bringing with it grit-laden, rust-colored rainfall

Claire Cameron

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