Scientific American (original) (raw)

A general view of Tehran with smoke visible in the distance after explosions were reported in the city.Nuclear weaponsMarch 11, 2026Iran was nowhere close to a nuclear bomb, experts say

Although President Trump has claimed Iran was weeks away from developing a nuclear weapon, much more work was needed for the country to do so

A spiral disk of matter surrounding a neutron star, which beams out light up and down along its axis.

hand holding two capsules.

Kīlauea volcano in Hawaii is seen mideruption, with two large plumes of lava jetting into the sky

A robot hand reaches toward bubbles with letters in them

ESCAPE THE HEADLINES. EXPLORE THE UNIVERSE. SUBSCRIBE.

An overhead view of the Strait of Hormuz, with peninsula where Oman is on the bottom and Iran on the top and the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman in the middle

AI and writing conceptual illustration of an old pen nib against a blue binary code

Three bacterial cells

A sign for the Food and Drug Administration is seen outside of the agency’s headquarters

March 2026 Issue

Special Edition

Podcasts

A U.S. Army Corps boat pumps sediment off the North Carolina coastDredging up a toxic past in the Cape Fear River

A proposed $1.3-billion U.S. Army Corps of Engineers port expansion in North Carolina threatens to unearth decades of “forever chemicals.” The government’s initial plan: don’t test the mud

Patrick Sisson

white pills on a orange-yellow backgroundTaking a multivitamin could slow some signs of aging, new study suggests

A new study shows that taking a daily multivitamin could boost longevity, but the results aren’t conclusive

Jackie Flynn Mogensen

hand holding two capsules.A single course of antibiotics may reshape the gut microbiome for years

A study in Sweden found that some antibiotics affected microbial diversity in the gut more than others

Lori Youmshajekian

A burst of 1999 Leonid meteors in a black and white imageStunning video shows huge fireball blazing over Europe

A large, bright meteor fell over Europe on Sunday, with some observers saying they could hear the rock’s explosive descent from the ground

Claire Cameron

Long exposure photography composite showing light trails from low-Earth orbit satellites filling the sky, a treeline is in silhouette at the bottom of the frameThe UniverseMarch 6, 2026It’s time to speak out against the unchecked growth of satellite mega constellations

Satellites are wonders of modern technology that have improved all of our lives. But having more than a million of them in orbit could destroy our view of the heavens and seriously damage our planet

Phil Plait

Engraving illustration of death of Archimedes, the ancient Greek mathematician, physicist and engineer.History of ScienceMarch 9, 2026Long-lost page of Archimedes’ writings rediscovered in France

The discovery adds to the Archimedes Palimpsest, an important medieval manuscript containing texts from the Greek mathematician Archimedes

Jackie Flynn Mogensen

View All Stories