The night of September 11th, President George W. Bush addressed the nation: “Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America.” The next day, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, a Democrat, said Congress stood united behind the president in condemning the attacks: “The world should know […]
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has undercounted nearly 8 million homes and businesses that face substantial risk of flooding, placing more Americans in jeopardy from coastal storms, rising rivers and flash flooding, according to a new analysis from the nonprofit First Street Foundation. The findings, based on advanced modeling of flood conditions under current and projected […]
The coronavirus that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and staggered the world’s economy is just about 88 nanometers in diameter—138 nm if you count its spikes. In this issue of Scientific American, we show what scientists have learned so far about the structure and function of the evil genius pathogen SARS-CoV-2. Molecular virologist […]
Originally published in June 1959 Credit: Scientific American Advertisement “The problems of eating and drinking under weightless conditions in space, long a topic of speculation among science-fiction writers, are now under investigation in a flying laboratory. Preliminary results indicate that space travelers will drink from plastic squeeze bottles and that space cooks will specialize in […]
Across the country a crucial trove of crime-solving data is sitting unused in the form of untested rape kits. These cardboard boxes contain envelopes filled with hairs, skin cells, semen, clothing and other forensic evidence collected from survivors after they report a sexual assault. If the DNA on these items matches DNA in a criminal […]
As astronomers gaze into the depths of space, they do so with unease: They don’t know precisely what the universe is made of. It’s not just the true nature of dark matter that eludes them; so does the essence of the stars that speckle the sky and populate the many galaxies throughout the cosmos. Surprisingly, […]
More than four billion years ago, a pair of black holes engaged in a dramatic dance. With gas and dust whirling around them, the voids spiraled closer and closer together, orbiting perilously near to a supermassive black hole. Then the two smaller black holes merged in a collision so powerful that it shook the fabric […]
Conservation projects in the developing world should invest in local scientific talent and infrastructure — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com Source link
The Gross Ecosystem Product, or GEP, tries to take into account the contribution of nature to the economy. — Read more on ScientificAmerican.com Source link
Remote Antarctica may feel like the most isolated place on Earth. Secluded at the bottom of the world and surrounded by the turbulent Southern Ocean, in many ways it’s a step into another world. But, as it turns out, the icy continent is more closely connected to the rest of the planet than it appears. […]