Lymphatic-like structures within the brain of a healthy person Shiju Gan/Harvard University Your brain may contain a hidden network of vessels that helps it dispose of metabolic waste. If confirmed to be true in future studies, the discovery could transform our understanding of the brain and even reveal new therapies for conditions like Alzheimer’s disease….
February 13, 2026 4 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm Let these nine romantic animals inspire you on Valentine’s Day These amorous creatures could put Casanova to shame—from beguiling dancing seahorses to peacocking spiders By K. R. Callaway edited by Claire Cameron Valentine’s Day can be a little cliché: red roses, dinner reservations, a…
Earth’s magnetic field extends tens of thousands of kilometres into space Getty Images/iStockphoto Two vast, mysterious blobs of hot rock around Earth’s core may have been instrumental in producing Earth’s magnetic field and caused it to be slightly wonky for millions of years. Scientists have known for decades about two peculiar continent-sized chunks of rock, one…
Valentine’s Day is here. And for those who want to ditch the candy and the dinner date for a good book, the staff at Scientific American has you covered. Here are eight recommendations for novels with enough scientific rigor and romantic spark to light a Bunsen burner. Atmosphere: A Love Storyby Taylor Jenkins Reid Ballantine Books,…
Historic anatomical preparations from the late 1700s in the Hunterian Anatomy Museum Anatomy Museum © The Hunterian, University of Glasgow A cold virus that infected a woman in London about 250 years ago has been identified by genetic analysis, making it it the oldest confirmed human RNA virus. DNA sequencing has enabled scientists to find…
Around the world, many conservationists are celebrating increases in sea turtle population growth. Cape Verde in West Africa now has 100 times as many loggerhead turtle nests each year as there were in 2008. But scientists warn that this apparent success could be hiding an impending population collapse. Using drone surveys and 15 years of…
February 13, 2026 3 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm Following one of these five diets may be the key to living longer It’s no surprise that eating fruits and vegetables is good for you, but diets that are rich in these foods could boost longevity, too, according to a new study By Jackie…
A healthy diet has long been linked to living into old age – and you don’t have to adhere to it perfectly to reap the benefits SolStock/Getty Images Five dietary patterns have been associated with living years longer, regardless of someone’s genetic risk factors for disease, in a study of more than 100,000 people. “If…
In the long shadow of the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs, life appears to have bounced back with surprising speed. A new analysis of sedimentation rates suggests that the first wave of marine species emerged within a few thousand years of the mass extinction event, many millennia quicker than many scientists assumed. The findings,…
One year ago this week, the U.S. Senate voted to confirm vaccine opponent, environmental lawyer and politician Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., as head of the $1.7 trillion U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The vote was split 52 to 48 on party lines, with the one Republican “no” vote coming from Senator Mitch McConnell…
