- Culture

- Fossil Fuels

- Bees

- Psychology

- Mathematics

- Quantum Computing

- Language

- Nutrition

- Arts

- Astronomy

- History

Culture

- Unlikely paths to discovery: Apr 2026

- Readers respond to the January 2026 issue: Apr 2026

APR 14, 2026, 6:00 AM EDT | ARTICLE SOURCE

Unlikely paths to discovery

Sometimes innovation can be traced back to bizarre places: a muddy streambed, a volcanic ash field or even a hotel-company boardroom

By David M. Ewalt edited by Jeanna Bryner

Scientific American, May 2026

David M. Ewalt is editor in chief of Scientific American.

This article was downloaded from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/unlikely-paths-to-discovery on Apr 30, 2026 at 1:13 PM EDT.

APR 14, 2026, 6:00 AM EDT | ARTICLE SOURCE

Readers respond to the January 2026 issue

Letters to the editors for the January 2026 issue of Scientific American

By Aaron Shattuck

Scientific American, January 2026

Aaron Shattuck is a senior copy editor at Scientific American.

This article was downloaded from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/readers-respond-to-the-january-2026-issue on Apr 30, 2026 at 1:13 PM EDT.

Fossil Fuels

- How cosmic rays are helping mining companies find critical minerals underground: Apr 2026

APR 14, 2026, 6:00 AM EDT | ARTICLE SOURCE

Mining companies are using cosmic rays to find critical minerals

As rich ore gets harder to find, the mining industry is using subatomic particles to map rock deep underground

By Adam Bluestein edited by Eric Sullivan

An Ideon muon detector scans for hidden ore deep inside a Nevada mine tunnel.

Alan Madsen/© Ideon Technologies

Adam Bluestein is a journalist covering business, science and innovation for Fast Company, Fortune, and others. He lives in Burlington, Vermont.

This article was downloaded from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-cosmic-rays-are-helping-mining-companies-find-critical-minerals on Apr 30, 2026 at 1:13 PM EDT.

Bees

- There are 4,000 species of native bees in the U.S.: Apr 2025

APR 4, 2025, 7:00 AM EDT | ARTICLE SOURCE

Meet the fluffy, funky and fabulous native bees that call the U.S. home

Scientists estimate there are about 4,000 species of native bees in the U.S.—and they’re both cooler and ecologically more important than honeybees

By Meghan Bartels edited by Andrea Thompson & Clara Moskowitz

Shideh Ghandeharizadeh

Meghan Bartels is a science journalist based in New York City. She joined Scientific American in 2023 and is now a senior reporter there. Previously, she spent more than four years as a writer and editor at Space.com, as well as nearly a year as a science reporter at Newsweek, where she focused on space and Earth science. Her writing has also appeared in Audubon, Nautilus, Astronomy and Smithsonian, among other publications. She attended Georgetown University and earned a master’s degree in journalism at New York University’s Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program.

This article was downloaded from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/there-are-4-000-species-of-native-bees-in-the-u-s on Apr 30, 2026 at 1:13 PM EDT.

Psychology

- AI and human intelligence are drastically different—here’s how: Feb 2026

FEB 18, 2026, 7:00 AM EST | ARTICLE SOURCE

What we risk when we confuse AI and human intelligence

Putting humans and LLMs head-to-head in classic tests of judgment from human psychology underscores the differences between them

By Walter Quattrociocchi edited by Daisy Yuhas & Allison Parshall

Tom Werner/Getty Images

Walter Quattrociocchi is a professor of computer science at Sapienza University of Rome. He studies complex systems and data science with a focus on human judgment, information dynamics and large language models.

This article was downloaded from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ai-and-human-intelligence-are-drastically-different-heres-how on Apr 30, 2026 at 1:13 PM EDT.

Mathematics

- How two mathematicians solved a cryptography mystery: Apr 2026

- Mathematicians created an ‘impossible’ shape that shouldn’t exist: Apr 2026

APR 14, 2026, 6:00 AM EDT | ARTICLE SOURCE

How two mathematicians created an equation that quietly runs the planet

The Diffie-Hellman key exchange secures everything from your text messages to government secrets

By Jack Murtagh edited by Jeanna Bryner

Golden Sikorka/Getty Images

Jack Murtagh is a freelance math writer and puzzle creator. He writes a column on mathematical curiosities for Scientific American and creates daily puzzles for the Morning Brew newsletter. He holds a Ph.D. in theoretical computer science from Harvard University. Follow him on X @JackPMurtagh

This article was downloaded from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-two-mathematicians-solved-a-cryptography-mystery on Apr 30, 2026 at 1:13 PM EDT.

APR 14, 2026, 6:00 AM EDT | ARTICLE SOURCE

Mathematicians created an ‘impossible’ shape that shouldn’t exist

Scientists have designed a new kind of paradoxical shape

By Clara Moskowitz & Robert Ghrist edited by Jen Christiansen & Clara Moskowitz

Robert Ghrist

Clara Moskowitz is chief of reporters at Scientific American, where she covers astronomy, space, physics and mathematics. She has been at Scientific American for more than a decade; previously she worked at Space.com. Moskowitz has reported live from rocket launches, space shuttle liftoffs and landings, suborbital spaceflight training, mountaintop observatories, and more. She has a bachelor’s degree in astronomy and physics from Wesleyan University and a graduate degree in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Robert Ghrist is a mathematician at the University of Pennsylvania. He works in applied algebraic topology and creates animations and visualizations of mathematics.

This article was downloaded from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mathematicians-created-an-impossible-shape-that-shouldnt-exist on Apr 30, 2026 at 1:13 PM EDT.

Quantum Computing

- DARPA built an AI to fact-check enemy weapons claims: Apr 2026

APR 14, 2026, 6:00 AM EDT | ARTICLE SOURCE

DARPA’s AI is built to call BS on wild weapons claims

The SciFy program tests whether adversaries’ most outlandish scientific claims add up or fall apart

By Sarah Scoles edited by Eric Sullivan

Richard Mia

Sarah Scoles is a Colorado-based science journalist and a contributing editor at Scientific American. Her newest book is Countdown: The Blinding Future of Nuclear Weapons (Bold Type Books, 2024).

This article was downloaded from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/darpa-built-an-ai-to-fact-check-enemy-weapons-claims on Apr 30, 2026 at 1:13 PM EDT.

Language

- Science crossword: Hot stuff: Apr 2026

APR 30, 2026, 1:13 PM EDT | ARTICLE SOURCE

Science Crossword

By Aimee Lucido

Aimee Lucido makes crosswords part-time for several outlets and writes trivia full-time for Bloomberg's news quiz, Pointed. She is also the author of several books for kids, including Emmy in the Key of Code, Recipe for Disaster, and Pasta Pasta Lotsa Pasta. Lucido lives with her husband, daughter and dog in New York.

This article was downloaded from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/science-crossword-hot-stuff on Apr 30, 2026 at 1:13 PM EDT.

Nutrition

- A hot pair of supplements, creatine and methylene blue dye, may not work together: Apr 2026

APR 14, 2026, 6:00 AM EDT | ARTICLE SOURCE

Adding the trendy supplement methylene blue to creatine may not help your body or brain

Creatine does help build muscle, but social media claims for methylene blue dye are way overblown

By Lydia Denworth edited by Josh Fischman

Jay Bendt

Lydia Denworth is an award-winning science journalist and contributing editor for Scientific American. She is author of Friendship: The Evolution, Biology, and Extraordinary Power of Life's Fundamental Bond (W. W. Norton, 2020) and several other books of popular science.

This article was downloaded from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-hot-pair-of-supplements-creatine-and-methylene-blue-dye-may-not-work on Apr 30, 2026 at 1:13 PM EDT.

Arts

- Poem: ‘How I Became a Spitfire Pilot during My Cataract Operation’: Apr 2026

APR 14, 2026, 6:00 AM EDT | ARTICLE SOURCE

Poem: ‘How I Became a Spitfire Pilot during My Cataract Operation’

Science in meter and verse

By Roger Camp edited by Dava Sobel & Clara Moskowitz

Masha Foya

Roger Camp of Seal Beach, Calif., is a poet, blues pianist, photographer and orchid enthusiast. When he’s not at home, he’s photographing in the Old World. His work has appeared in Spillway, Slant, North American Review, Pank, Southern Poetry Review and Nimrod.

This article was downloaded from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/poem-how-i-became-a-spitfire-pilot-during-my-cataract-operation on Apr 30, 2026 at 1:13 PM EDT.

Astronomy

- Why the Hubble Space Telescope still matters: Jan 2026

JAN 30, 2026, 6:45 AM EST | ARTICLE SOURCE

After all these years, the Hubble Space Telescope is still awesome

The venerable Hubble observatory is going strong despite its decades in space and the advent of next-generation successors

By Phil Plait edited by Lee Billings

The Hubble Space Telescope was deployed by space shuttle Discovery on April 25, 1990.

NASA

Phil Plait is a professional astronomer and science communicator in Virginia. His column for Scientific American, The Universe, covers all things space. He writes the Bad Astronomy Newsletter. Follow him online.

This article was downloaded from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-the-hubble-space-telescope-still-matters on Apr 30, 2026 at 1:13 PM EDT.

History

- May 2026: Science History from 50, 100 and 150 Years Ago: Apr 2026

APR 14, 2026, 6:00 AM EDT | ARTICLE SOURCE

May 2026: Science History from 50, 100 and 150 Years Ago

Synchronous fireflies; Grand Canyon fossil footprints

By Jeanna Bryner

1926, King Tut's Golden Coffins: "Within the burial chamber hewn from the solid rock, Tut-ankh-amen’s mummy was protected by many enclosures of wood, stone and gold. First came three large wooden, box-like shrines, one within the other. These were removed to reveal a great sarcophagus of yellow quartzite with a granite lid."

Scientific American, Vol. 134, No. 5; May 1926

Jeanna Bryner is executive editor of Scientific American. Previously she was editor in chief of Live Science and, prior to that, an editor at Scholastic's Science World magazine. Bryner has an English degree from Salisbury University, a master’s degree in biogeochemistry and environmental sciences from the University of Maryland and a graduate science journalism degree from New York University. She has worked as a biologist in Florida, where she monitored wetlands and did field surveys for endangered species, including the gorgeous Florida Scrub Jay. She also received an ocean sciences journalism fellowship from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. She is a firm believer that science is for everyone and that just about everything can be viewed through the lens of science.

This article was downloaded from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/may-2026-science-history-from-50-100-and-150-years-ago on Apr 30, 2026 at 1:13 PM EDT.

Table of Contents

Scientific American: May 2026 Vol. 334, Issue 5

Culture

Unlikely paths to discovery: Apr 2026

Readers respond to the January 2026 issue: Apr 2026

Fossil Fuels

How cosmic rays are helping mining companies find critical minerals underground: Apr 2026

Bees

There are 4,000 species of native bees in the U.S.: Apr 2025

Psychology

AI and human intelligence are drastically different—here’s how: Feb 2026

Mathematics

How two mathematicians solved a cryptography mystery: Apr 2026

Mathematicians created an ‘impossible’ shape that shouldn’t exist: Apr 2026

Quantum Computing

DARPA built an AI to fact-check enemy weapons claims: Apr 2026

Language

Science crossword: Hot stuff: Apr 2026

Nutrition

A hot pair of supplements, creatine and methylene blue dye, may not work together: Apr 2026

Arts

Poem: ‘How I Became a Spitfire Pilot during My Cataract Operation’: Apr 2026

Astronomy

Why the Hubble Space Telescope still matters: Jan 2026

History

May 2026: Science History from 50, 100 and 150 Years Ago: Apr 2026