President Donald Trump’s desire to claim Greenland for the U.S. has thrust the island’s wealth of natural resources firmly into the spotlight. But while geopolitical chatter can make it sound as though the Danish territory’s precious metals and rare earths are easy pickings, the reality is far more complicated. Part of Greenland’s appeal, indeed, comes…
Rule-based cooking is very appealing because it produces highly replicable results FG Trade/Getty Images The ScoreC. Thi NguyenAllen Lane THIS time last year, I wrote an article for New Scientist about the perfect way to cook the classic pasta dish cacio e pepe, according to physicists. The meal’s smooth, glossy emulsion of black pepper, pecorino…
On October 1, 2022, something strange happened in the Philippines: 433 people won the jackpot in the local lottery. For this particular lotto, six numbers ranging in value from 1 to 55 were randomly selected, and the 433 winners all matched. Even more bizarre, when arranged in ascending order, the winning numbers were: 9, 18,…
A yellow baboon stands watch Frederic Noy/Panos Pictures A young yellow baboon (above) looks out over the Udzungwa Mountains National Park in Tanzania. The Udzungwa mountains are covered by very rich rainforests, but their remoteness means the area was relatively unexplored by biologists until recently. There are six species of primate living in the park,…
Imagine this scenario. The year is 2030; deepfakes and artificial-intelligence-generated content are everywhere, and you are a member of a new profession—a reality notary. From your office, clients ask you to verify the authenticity of photos, videos, e-mails, contracts, screenshots, audio recordings, text message threads, social media posts and biometric records. People arrive desperate to…
Teens taking part in a trial that limits their social media use will soon be forced to connect IRL Daniel de la Hoz/Getty Images A world-first study will test whether reducing the time teenagers spend on social media really does improve their mental health. But the results aren’t due until mid-2027, by which time further…
January 24, 2026 3 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm Back from the dead, a black hole is erupting after a 100-million-year hiatus Radio images captured this “cosmic volcano” being reborn at the heart of the galaxy J1007+3540 By K. R. Callaway edited by Lee Billings After 100 million years of dormancy, the supermassive…
You may be chronologically older than your “true age” REUTERS/Toru Hanai When I first started writing about ageing years ago, there was a buzz around something called biological clocks, also known as ageing clocks or “true age” measurements. In principle, these are quite simple: we all have a chronological age, the number of years since…
Editor in Chief Nancy Shute discusses how scientists are beginning to study animals’ emotions and personalities — from joy to individual temperament.
January 23, 2026 4 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm AI’s next battleground is your body Tech giants are betting that we are finally ready to invite a persistent digital device into our lives By Deni Ellis Béchard edited by Eric Sullivan A woman tests AI-powered Rokid smart glasses during a product presentation in…
