Scientific American Magazine

Analyses of anatomy, DNA and cultural remains have yielded tantalizing insights into the inner lives of our mysterious extinct cousins

Let's say some future civilization wanted to get energy out of a black hole. The first step would be to build a space elevator that defies the laws of physics

Genes in the liver, pancreas and other tissues (not just the brain) keep the various parts of the body in sync. Timing miscues may lead to diabetes, depression and other illnesses

New types of electronic components, closer to neurons than to transistors, are leading to tremendously efficient and faster “memcomputing”

Our future rides on our ability to integrate how we use these three commodities

Electrical stimulation deep within the brain may alleviate devastating mood disorders

We know surprisingly little about what low-dose radiation does to organisms and ecosystems. Four years after the disaster in Fukushima, scientists are beginning to get some answers