![](https://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/cache/file/B2C47241-7A31-42EA-9077D260F6B71A84_agenda.jpg?w=275&h=154&fit=crop)
These Adorable Jellyfish Show Learning Doesn't Even Require a Brain
Human scientists—used to the benefits of a centralized, complex brain—have been underestimating what a simple nerve network can do
Meghan Bartels is a science journalist and news reporter for Scientific American who is based in New York City.
Human scientists—used to the benefits of a centralized, complex brain—have been underestimating what a simple nerve network can do
Jupiter’s mysterious moon Europa may hold carbon in the ocean lurking beneath its icy shell
If it had hit Earth, this coronal mass ejection could have caused continent-scale blackouts, scientists say
NASA has appointed a director of unidentified anomalous phenomena research to advance that area of scientific investigation
Hurricane Lee is no longer a Category 5 storm but has grown in size as it has trekked farther north
Scientists analyzed nine so-called planetary boundaries and found humans are currently transgressing six
Within days of each other, Hurricane Jova in the Pacific and Hurricane Lee in the Atlantic rapidly ballooned into Category 5 storms
Discovered only last month, Comet Nishimura is drawing attention before close approaches to the sun and Earth in the coming weeks
Often nicknamed “making biscuits,” kneading is a good sign that your cat is happy, experts say
Floodwaters from hurricanes, sea-level rise, a burst dam or other causes can contain a nasty mix of pathogens, chemicals and debris
After avian influenza killed 21 endangered California Condors, government officials are testing a vaccine that could protect the massive scavengers from infection
Record-low sea ice caused Emperor Penguin chicks to die across Antarctica last year. This year could be just as bad
When trees get too hot, energy production in their leaves breaks down
Minuscule amounts of uranium detected in the shells of turtles point to a new way to track such materials’ impacts on people and ecosystems
Smoke from wildfires that have been exacerbated by climate change is complicating the picture of air pollution in the U.S.
In the latest chapter of an ongoing “moon rush,” Russia’s Luna-25 mission will attempt the nation’s first lunar landing in nearly 50 years
At Los Angeles’ La Brea Tar Pits, scientists found they could watch large mammals disappear from the fossil record—and could trace the ecosystem through the catastrophe
Researchers set out to calculate how much of Earth’s life dwells in the planet’s least admired environment
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” says a paleontologist not involved in the discovery of a 40-million-year-old fossilized whale
A glitch may have silenced NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft until mid-October—but a “heartbeat” signal offers hope for reestablishing contact earlier
Support science journalism.
Thanks for reading Scientific American. Knowledge awaits.
Already a subscriber? Sign in.
Thanks for reading Scientific American. Create your free account or Sign in to continue.
Create Account