Scientifc America

DNA from Denisovans, an extinct human species, that was found in the genomes of Indigenous Papuans may mold their immune system

A way to map the ancestry of dog breeds reveals the genetic basis of stereotypical dog behaviors

Two-million-year-old DNA, the world's oldest, reveals that mastodons once roamed forests in Greenland’s far northern reaches

Octopus outbursts, evading sexual cannibalism, and a human-cockatoo arms race—here are strange animal behaviors we learned about in 2022

In 2022 the world’s population hit the eight-billion mark. But such milestones could top out by the end of the century

Heavy rains may have set off an outpouring of ash and gases from Indonesia’s volcano Semeru “like uncorking a soda bottle”

Languages from Hindi to Korean tone down swear words by inserting gentler consonants into speech. Here’s how “Let’s go Brandon” got started

Researchers are convinced the James Webb Space Telescope has glimpsed an unexpected population of galaxies in the early universe. Now they’re trying to decide what this means for our understanding of the cosmos

Much of North America can witness a delightful astronomical event on the evening of December 7 as the moon blocks out Mars

The Ads/CFT duality conjecture suggests our universe is a hologram, enabling significant discoveries in the 25 years since it was first proposed

Hawaii’s Mauna Loa, the largest active volcano on Earth, erupted for the first time in nearly 40 years. Its eruptions tend to be shorter-lived than those of the other Big Island volcanoes, and its lava is more liquid and flows faster

Diminished risk-taking behaviors and other benefits may explain why many people with bipolar disorder keep consuming cannabis despite some dire downsides

In an ever warming world, the health benefits of stadium air-conditioning may not outweigh the climate risks

Elon Musk’s Starlink and other satellite sources of light pollution and orbital debris should face an environmental review, the U.S. Government Accountability Office finds

Health care workers in Uganda will be among the first people to receive candidate Ebola vaccines in a clinical trial that could expand the available tools for the control of Sudan ebolavirus outbreak

A woman during pregnancy shows changes in a key brain network that may be important for bonding with their child

Mathematician Melanie Matchett Wood seeks creative ways of solving open math problems

A standard diagnostic test may be one reason autism research includes so few female participants

A new proposal seeks to solve the paradox of quantum spin

COVID cut average life spans short in many high-income countries, but the U.S. decline has been steeper and longer than most