Fusion plasma can go haywire without warning. One researcher calls the problem “kind of existential.” A new superconducting AI chip kept up with a million tokamak data samples per second. The catch: so far it’s only seen recordings, never the live plasma. sciam.com/article/new-superc…

Around 5,000 years ago a mysterious woman was given a royal burial in ancient Egypt. Now, after years of debate, scientists reveal that she was the civilization’s first female king sciam.com/article/ancient-eg…

The National Science Foundation, one of the largest funders of research in the U.S., has been rocked by firings and budget cuts during the second Trump administration. Now, it is reportedly set to lose its leader at the end of the year sciam.com/article/national-s…

A cyclone in the Philippine Sea has reached wind speeds of about 185 miles per hour—setting a record for the strongest storm of 2026, forecasters say sciam.com/article/super-typh…

The biggest “land rush” of the 21st century is underway—but not on Earth. The U.S. and China are now clamoring to build moon bases at the lunar south pole. But the Moon’s riches reach well beyond there. A new report flags where else astronauts should go. sciam.com/article/report-pin…

You’ll never hold antimatter in your hand: the stuff annihilates upon contact with matter. But physicists have now managed to trap a single particle of it for a month—and the feat could help solve one of the universe’s deepest mysteries. sciam.com/article/physicists…

For all the night owls out there, the Orionids meteor shower is here to light up the dark October sky. The shower peaks on October 21-22, with the best chance of catching a shooting star after 3 A.M. sciam.com/article/see-the-or…

Republican congressional candidate Tom Stalcup, who holds a Ph.D. in physics, is facing a steep climb in a blue district. In an interview, he criticizes his party’s stance on climate change and accuses both parties of putting politics before science. sciam.com/article/republican…

What can an alien slime mold teach us about being human? Annalee Newitz’s new book, A Wall Is Also a Road, tries to find out. Tune in to her conversation about consciousness, alien life and the things that we get wrong when we talk about Pompeii.   sciam.com/podcast/episode/a-…

Christina Applegate just revealed that she was misdiagnosed with MS in 2021—experts explain why this kind of mistake can happen much more often than you think sciam.com/article/christina-…

A National Science Foundation grant that helps researchers buy scientific equipment was supposed to open for submissions on October 15. But the date has come and gone, leaving scientists in the dark sciam.com/article/scientists…

It’s not easy being green if you’re a star—but it’s not impossible, either. A new study of white dwarfs reveals these strange stars can display many odd colors: yellow, pink, purple or even a subtle shade of chartreuse. sciam.com/article/green-star…

50 years ago The Selfish Gene became an instant bestseller, bringing evolutionary biology back into cultural conversation and catapulting its author, Richard Dawkins, to global fame. Yet today scientists are still debating its core message. sciam.com/article/the-selfis…

Here’s why physicists are taking this once-fringe multiverse theory seriously. sciam.com/article/why-we-pro…

Your brain is a prediction machine. Can it cope with a world in chaos? sciam.com/article/how-your-b…

Scientists who previously worked on fusion inside the U.S. nuclear labs and their colleagues built the private company Pacific Fusion. Now the government is turning to their new machines for help conducting research on its nuclear arsenal. sciam.com/article/how-a-fusi…

The ocean’s size makes oceanic carbon removal an enticing method to battle climate change. But researchers are finding that once treated seawater disperses into currents and tides, proving how much CO₂ was removed becomes enormously difficult. sciam.com/article/inside-the…

Come dig into the SciAm archives with us. This month a few of our favorite gems from past November issues include a look at the evidence for life on Mars and our 1876 editors’ exploration of “reprehensible” deception among artificial butter sellers. sciam.com/article/november-2…

A radical new theory about energy and mitochondria could explain chronic disease and aging. sciam.com/article/the-provoc…

The algorithms that run your feeds on social media are like “heat-seeking missiles that identify psychological vulnerability,” one psychologist told SciAm associate editor Allison Parshall. sciam.com/article/our-love-h…