November 5, 2025 3 min read Archaeologists Uncover a Monumental Ancient Maya Map of the Cosmos Archaeologists have uncovered evidence of a ritual-based site that may have been built long before the rise of Maya rulers By Humberto Basilio edited by Andrea Thompson A cross-shaped pit found at the Aguada Fénix site in Mexico after…
Sometimes wormholes are lumpy Shutterstock / Champhei What happens when two black holes become connected through an inextricable quantum link? Calculations suggest that this can give rise to a bumpy space-time tunnel called the “Einstein-Rosen caterpillar.” Albert Einstein’s name connects two very different physical oddities: the first is called an Einstein-Rosen bridge – a wormhole,…
Stella was eight years old when she stopped eating solid foods. She went from being a “foodie” to strictly consuming liquids, says Briana, Stella’s mother. That diet soon became problematic for Stella, too: later, she removed chunks from her soup and struggled to drink smoothies that contained small seeds. She grew so afraid of swallowing…
The Helios-1 quantum computing chip Quantinuum Researchers at the quantum computing firm Quantinuum used a new Helios-1 quantum computer to simulate a mathematical model that has long been used to study superconductivity. These simulations are not out of reach for conventional computers, but this advance sets the stage for quantum computers to become useful tools…
November 4, 2025 4 min read Astronomers Are Agog over This All-Day Gamma-Ray Burst A cosmic explosion known as GRB 250702B is by far the longest gamma-ray burst astronomers have ever seen—if it’s even one at all By Yvette Cendes edited by Lee Billings sakkmesterke/Getty Images You might think astronomers have seen it all, but…
Chunyip Wong/Getty Images Many of us have downloaded mindfulness apps like Headspace or Calm, and have probably benefited from spending 10 minutes each day focusing on our breathing. But reducing stress and softening the sharper edges of anxiety in this way are beginners’ steps when it comes to the practice of meditation. Put in the…
Planetary scientist Adeene Denton runs computer simulations to investigate Pluto, the moons of Saturn and other icy bodies in the solar system.
Rachel Feltman: For Scientific American’s Science Quickly, I’m Rachel Feltman. As children many of us are taught that being “good” means being obedient: doing what we’re told by parents, teachers and authority figures. But that conditioning can make it incredibly difficult to speak up when we know something is wrong, whether that means correcting a…
Historical accounts say Ingólfr Arnarson was the first Norse settler of Iceland, arriving in the 870s, but this may not be true Public domain Norse people may have lived in Iceland almost 70 years earlier than historians thought, and their arrival might not have been the environmental disaster it is often portrayed as. Historical accounts…
Enamel protects teeth from damage, but is easily degraded agrobacter/Getty Images A gel uses chemicals found in saliva to repair and regenerate tooth enamel, which could prevent people from developing cavities that require fillings. Enamel – the hard, shiny layer on the surface of teeth – shields the sensitive inner layers from wear and tear,…
