A look inside the brains of extraordinarily sharp elderly people reveals clues about their unusual abilities. Deep in these exceptional brains were signs of what some scientists believe to be newborn nerve cells, born well into old age. The results, published February 25 in Nature, add datapoints to the scientific debate about whether adults can…
March 6, 2026 3 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm NASA changed an asteroid’s orbital path around the sun, a first for humankind Smashing a spacecraft into a binary asteroid system has managed to alter its path around the sun, a new analysis reveals By Jackie Flynn Mogensen edited by Claire Cameron The asteroid…
Enceladus, a moon of Saturn, is a prime target in the hunt for life elsewhere in our solar system NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute A new method to recognise the chemical properties of living things could help us detect alien life even if it functions differently from life on Earth. When searching for alien life, scientists usually…
A spacecraft slowed the orbit of a pair of asteroids around the sun by more than 10 micrometers per second — the first time human activity has altered the orbit of a celestial object, researchers report March 6 in Science Advances. The experiment could have implications for protecting Earth from future asteroid strikes. NASA’s Double…
March 6, 2026 4 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm People who know more about AI art find it less ethical When people understand the system and process behind AI art, its moral implications become harder to accept By Ionela Bara edited by Daisy Yuhas Malte Mueller/Getty Images A year ago, at Christie’s auction…
Ocean warming has led to widespread bleaching of warm-water corals Sirachai Arunrugstichai/Getty Images Global warming has accelerated and is now happening twice as fast as in previous decades, meaning major climate catastrophes could happen sooner than expected. Earth was warming by about 0.18°C per decade prior to 2013-14. Since then, it has been heating up…
Robotic hands are getting their nails done. Researchers have designed a new three-fingered robotic hand whose digits come with a rigid fingernail on soft material. The design gives the robotic hand the ability to peel fruit, open containers with lids and pick up flat objects, the team posted to arXiv.org February 5. The results offer…
I remember the first time I saw a satellite. I was a teenager, standing in my mildly light-polluted suburban yard and doing my usual stargazing. The satellite was a faint “star” moving slowly and smoothly across the sky, and as I watched it, I felt a mix of awe and wonder that such a thing…
Were these the first people to reach space? Heritage Image Partnership Ltd /Alamy If you were to take off from Earth on a clear day – the kind you want for a launch – you’d see the sky change colours before your eyes. It would shine a bright blue outside your window, becoming deeper as…
March 5, 2026 3 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm Americans trust federal scientists more than RFK, Jr., poll suggests When it comes to health advice, more people trust the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association than they do federal health agencies, according to a new poll By Dan Vergano edited…
