Author: Scientific American

The new interconnected breed of autocrats gains and retains power by deception, globally undermining democracies through their own institutions

Cave fish develop taste buds on their head and below their chin—and even in humans, taste cells grow in truly unexpected locations

This week’s news roundup explores how the brain is affected by pregnancy, the way “scuba diving” lizards breathe underwater, and much more.

Certain values carry more weight in spring and autumn than in summer and winter

Scientists are putting a new spin on the creation of binary asteroids

Mathematics communicator and drag queen Kyne will help you discover the beauty and power of math in this miniseries.

Three scientists are honored for developing a class of blockbuster weight-loss drugs. Is a Nobel prize on the way?

A long-awaited calculation of the W boson’s mass agrees with theory, contradicting a previous anomaly that had raised the possibility of new physics beyond the Standard Model

In the U.S. in the early 1960s the distributor of a thalidomide drug was impatient to get it on the market. But FDA medical examiner Frances Oldham Kelsey wanted more information to prove its safety

Some researchers dream of solving all mysteries with a common method—but a mathematical paradox may keep such solutions out of reach