The Best of Scientific American

An endangered language family suggests that early humans used their bodies as a model for reality

Studies show that people may experience enormous variability in personality traits throughout the course of the day

New research points to different step counts based on age and fitness level

Math is called the “universal language,” but a unique dialect is being reborn

Mathematician Abba Gumel uses calculations and models to prepare for future disease outbreaks

The James Madison University mathematician raises a glass to a lavishly impractical theorem about knots

Originally built to speed up calculations, a machine-learning system is now making shocking progress at the frontiers of experimental quantum physics

New research shows that lightning-quick neural rehearsal can supercharge learning and memory.

«It’s during those intermittent breaks that the brain starts to sew together the individual movements that make up a seamless piece.»

Gaslighting isn’t just between people in a relationship—it involves social power, too

The weaponization of medical language emboldened white supremacy with the authority of the white coat. How will we stop it from happening again?

Studies suggest that appreciating beauty in the everyday may be just as powerful as a sense of overarching purpose

«the more people indicated that they were “appreciating life” and its many experiences, the more they felt their existence was valuable.»

Astronomy and space exploration might offer a new perspective on our purpose in the cosmos

In a new study, participants who consumed sugar substitutes showed an altered microbiome and spikes in blood glucose

Archaeologists reconstructed a Neolithic woman’s complete genome and oral microbiome from a piece of birch tar she chewed

The real-life fungi that inspired The Last of Us hijack the bodies of ants, wasps, cicadas, and more.

Trees communicate and cooperate through a fungal web, according to a widespread idea. But not everyone is convinced

The evolutionary history of humans explains why physical activity is important for brain health

Enacted dreams could be an early sign of Parkinson’s disease

A laboratory demonstration of the classic “Wigner’s friend” thought experiment could overturn cherished assumptions about reality

An aging science journalist with a literature degree sets out to learn quantum mechanics, mathematics and all

A new experiment hints at surprising hidden mechanics of quantum superpositions

Quantum telepathy, laser-based time crystals, a glow from empty space and an “unreal” universe—these are the most awesome (and awfully hard to understand) results from the subatomic realm we…

Metabolism studies reveal surprising insights into how we burn calories—and how cooperative food production helped Homo sapiens flourish

Do efforts to create life—by cooking up imitations in computers, robots and molecules—point toward a universal definition of biology?

An artificially intelligent first author presents many ethical questions—and could upend the publishing process

Who decided that nothing should be something?

Infants can form memories, just not the kind that recalls specific experiences

Adverse experiences can change future generations through epigenetic pathways

The way we decide may even give insight into delusional thinking

«Choice tips the balance of learning: for the same action and outcome, the brain learns differently and more quickly from free choices than forced ones.»