Monsters of Ohio mixes sci-fi horror and small-town politics
Scientific American talks to author John Scalzi about his tentacle-filled 20th novel, its balance of hope and cynicism—and the possibility of a Chappell Roan crossover
Slime mold aliens explore Pompeii in a new novel by Annalee Newitz
Slime mold aliens explore Pompeii—and humanity—in a new book by Annalee Newitz
The Selfish Gene, revisited
A half century ago The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins became an instant bestseller and transformed public awareness of evolutionary biology. Today scientists are still debating its core message
What the science really says about Blue Zones and living past 100
The data behind Blue Zones might not be that strong
Love blooms on a hostile colony world in As You Wake, Break the Shell
Sci-fi author Becky Chambers on designing believable ecosystems, balancing scientific accuracy with emotional impact and emphasizing empathy over spectacle
Can an AI chatbot replace human connection?
What do we lose when machines become our closest confidants?
Can technology optimize companionship? A novelist imagines the extreme answer
Author Sarah Pierce explores dating apps, loneliness and human connection through a novel about a corpse-matching algorithm
Where are all the aliens? A new book explores possible answers
Seven Rasmussen, an astrobiologist and author of the new book Cloudy with a Chance of Starships, gives readers a tour of the astonishing science behind modern searches for alien life
Silicon Valley reads a lot of science fiction. It often gets it wrong
Historian Jill Lepore explains what tech leaders miss in their favorite stories—and why the fight over AI data centers may be where the machine stops
How the history of human creativity can help us navigate the age of AI
Moiya McTier explores what makes human creativity unique in the age of AI
How flowers shaped the world as we know it
David Haskell brings readers through millions of years of botanical history for his latest book, How Flowers Made Our World
The alien stories Scientific American editors keep coming back to
The 24 alien books the Scientific American staff love, from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy to Contact and beyond