Scientific American

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A research volunteer uses augmented reality goggles to perform astronaut-like tasks during a simulated space mission.

Space ExplorationJuly 2, 2026

NASA needs volunteers to spend a year locked in a Mars simulation

The space agency has put out a call for its Moon & Mars Exploration Analog, which recreates the challenges of a long-duration space mission

Sam Macdonald

A male marathon runner in a pink tank top celebrating crossing the finish line

People try to stay cool during a heat wave in Bryant Park in Manhattan on July 01, 2026 in New York City.

Image displays a mottled background with a central crosshair reticle. A dark, circular object is positioned exactly at the center of the reticle. The background shows a textured pattern, possibly depicting ground terrain.

A robot hand reaches toward bubbles with letters in them

The Young American Scientists Issue—Read Now

A political figure looks down at a phone while standing in an airplane cabin with aides nearby.

Pigment sampling at a claviform rock art figure in Tebellín, Spain.

Sea surface temperatures near the United States, appearing in bright red

Close up of a brownish hornet seen from the side on a leaf

July/August 2026 Issue

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A piece of new blue paint, a part of President Donald Trump’s renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, peels off from the bottom of the pool on June 18, 2026, in Washington, D.C.

Materials ScienceJune 22, 2026

Why is the paint peeling off the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool? An investigation

Poor preparation and a failure to properly apply the coating may be just a few of the reasons why the Reflecting Pool’s new paint job appears to be peeling off

Adam Kovac

A pigeon curves its head to stare into the camera with a bright orange eye.

Chaotic pigeons are helping redefine what we know about learning

Pigeons seem to defy a century-old psychology law about how rewards and consequences help us learn

K. R. Callaway

A digital illustration of a face in purple on a black background

Artificial IntelligenceJune 29, 2026

How to spot an AI-generated face, according to science

Training people to pay attention to the right visual cues nearly doubled how accurately they could spot AI-generated faces

Sam Macdonald

Circles of light on the night sky. A telescope dome atop a mountain is below the center of the circle.

Did two physicists just upend decades of cosmology research?

A new study claims that the universe isn’t entirely the same no matter where you look—a radical proposal

Joseph Howlett

Three men contemplate a Go board.

Artificial IntelligenceMarch 13, 2023

AI’s Victories in Go Inspire Better Human Game Playing

Famed AI wins in Go let human players rethink their moves in a whole new way

Emily Willingham

Herculaneum scroll with red laser lines being scanned at Institut de France by Brent Seales and his team.

Ancient Roman scrolls destroyed by Mount Vesuvius digitally unrolled in full for first time

This Silicon Valley-backed venture is unraveling the mangled remains of scrolls ruined by the 79 C.E. eruption of Vesuvius that destroyed Herculaneum and Pompeii

Claire Cameron

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