2019-01-24 所属栏目:科学美国人

Trees in cities do measurable good for biodiversity and for human health. They scrub pollution from the air. They provide habitat to wildlife. They make streets look nicer. And the

2019-01-23 所属栏目:科学美国人

This weekend, many parts of the world—including North America—will be treated to a total lunar eclipse. So here with your viewing guide—how it happens, what to ex

2019-01-21 所属栏目:科学美国人

Leonardo da Vinci's most famous painting also has an optical illusion named after it: the Mona Lisa effect. The feeling that the subject of a painting follows you with her gaze. "

2019-01-18 所属栏目:科学美国人

It’s peak cold and flu season, which means taking a lot of preventive measures. Frequent hand-washing is a must. As is avoiding co-workers or friends who are sick. But we hum

2019-01-17 所属栏目:科学美国人

Birds in Europe have the same problem as residents of cities like New York and L.A.: a housing crisis. Not enough nest space to go around. For a species called pied flycatchers tha

2019-01-14 所属栏目:科学美国人

Monogamy. What makes one species pair off, while members of a closely related species play the field? The answer may lie in their genes.

Researchers at the University of Texas at

2019-01-14 所属栏目:科学美国人

Have you ever left the theaters after watching a Batman or Superman movie feeling like you wanted to be a better person? If so, you’re not alone. Research finds that superher

2019-01-11 所属栏目:科学美国人

Your genome is sort of like a library—with each gene an instruction manual for making proteins. Bad news is, you can’t return a book and take out a new edition. But the

2019-01-09 所属栏目:科学美国人

When wildfires rip through a landscape, firefighters have the first—and most immediate—job. But then, that burned moonscape often passes into the hands of restoration e

2019-01-07 所属栏目:科学美国人

Facebook is currently worth some $400 billion dollars to its shareholders. Which might seem like a lot. But a recent study suggests the company is worth many times more than that,

2019-01-03 所属栏目:科学美国人

Hi, I’m Scientific American podcast editor Steve Mirsky. And here’s a short piece from the December 2018 issue of the magazine, in the section called Advances: Dispatch

2019-01-02 所属栏目:科学美国人

Given much thought to the afterlife of your Christmas tree? Your city might recycle it into compost or mulch. Or it might rot in a landfill, releasing methane, a potent greenhouse

2019-01-02 所属栏目:科学美国人

We all know that stuffing our faces with sweet treats is not good for us. In part because it’s bad for the health-promoting bacteria that inhabit our intestines. Now, researc

2018-12-29 所属栏目:科学美国人

There's a whole genre of music called "relaxation music." <CLIP: Solstice Dawn> Also called "Meditative Binaural Music," because it includes sounds recorded in stereo, and sometim

2018-12-28 所属栏目:科学美国人

If you drive in a city, you've no doubt experienced the frustration of circling block after block, cruising for parking. But scientists who study that phenomenon have a solution t

2018-12-27 所属栏目:科学美国人

&lsquo;Tis the season&hellip;for overeating! But it&rsquo;s not just your lack of willpower or the omnipresent holiday treats. No, you can lay some of the blame on ghrelin. Because

2018-12-26 所属栏目:科学美国人

One of the most impressive scenes in the world of birds is a peacock displaying its impressive, iridescent feathers, technically known as its train. While the female peahen looks o

2018-12-25 所属栏目:科学美国人

There's a whole genre of music called "relaxation music." <<CLIP: Solstice Dawn>> Also called "Meditative Binaural Music," because it includes sounds recorded in stereo, and somet

2018-12-25 所属栏目:科学美国人

You&rsquo;re at a party and you suddenly feel someone looking at you. But how can it be possible to feel another person&rsquo;s glance? I mean, it&rsquo;s not like people shoot act

2018-12-24 所属栏目:科学美国人

Exercise builds muscle. But it also strengthens bones. Exactly how exercise boosts bone strength is a matter of debate—and a subject of scientific scrutiny. Now, a new study

2018-12-24 所属栏目:科学美国人

In the jungle, home is anywhere you can raise your babies—while trying not to get gobbled up by somebody else. Take a tiny creature from Brazil whose name is longer than it i

2018-12-21 所属栏目:科学美国人

Everyone knows what it&rsquo;s like to itch. And the sensation can drive you mad. Or, if you&rsquo;re Yan-Gang Sun of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, it can drive you to explore h

2018-12-20 所属栏目:科学美国人

Blue Planet II is a critically acclaimed 2017 BBC documentary series about the world&rsquo;s oceans, hosted by the great David Attenborough. And it&rsquo;s now available on Netflix

2018-12-17 所属栏目:科学美国人

Hundreds of millions of years from now, when humans are probably long gone, what sort of geologic record will we leave behind for future archaeologists? Plastics, sure? Concrete, m

2018-12-14 所属栏目:科学美国人

Long before dolphins swam the seas, their near look-alike ichthyosaurs inhabited the earth's oceans. Now scientists say these ancient seafaring reptiles may have had more in commo