Why We’ll Never Live in Space
Medical, financial and ethical hurdles stand in the way of the dream to settle in space
Volume 329, Issue 3
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Features
It’s Time to Engineer the Sky
Global warming is so rampant that some scientists say we should begin altering the stratosphere to block incoming sunlight, even if it jeopardizes rain and crops
Wine’s True Origins Are Finally Revealed
A broad genetic study has revised the prevailing narrative about how wine grapes spread around the world
Artificial Intelligence Could Finally Let Us Talk with Animals
AI is poised to revolutionize our understanding of animal communication
Departments
Advances
Nearby Supernova Gives Unique View of a Dying Star's Last Days
New Chemical Process Offers Hope for Mixed-Plastics Recycling
Cannibalistic Dads May Be Contributing to Hellbender Salamander Declines
Underground Climate Change Is Weakening Buildings in Slow Motion
Ancient Honey-and-Vinegar Combo Could Actually Treat Infected Wounds
Some Metals Mysteriously Heal Their Own Cracks
New Wildlife Tracker Powers Itself as Animals Walk, Trot and Run
Fungi Make Safer Fireproofing Material
Science News Briefs from around the World: October 2023
Fish Skin Can Heal Other Animals' Eye Injuries
Above-Elbow Bionic Arm Can Control Every Finger
Mutated Gene That Causes Webbed Limbs in Humans May Have Given Bats Wings
Public Health
People Who Are Changing the Environment One Community at a Time
Climate Change
Discrimination Has Trapped People of Color in Unhealthy Urban 'Heat Islands'
Building Codes Save Money and Lives
Inequality
For Health Equity, Location Matters
Epidemiology
Valley Fever Is a Growing Fungal Threat to Outdoor Workers
Pollution
Fixing Air Pollution Could Dramatically Improve Health Disparities
Animals
More People Die from Venomous Snakebites Each Year Than Have Ever Died from Ebola
Health Care
The Father of Environmental Justice Exposes the Geography of Inequity
Engineering
Introducing Scientific American's Redesign, Newsletter and Podcasts
Culture
Readers Respond to the May 2023 Issue
Extraterrestrial Life
How Far Should We Take Our Cosmic Humility?
Diet
How to Figure Out if Moderate Drinking Is Too Risky for You
Cognition
To Stay Sharp as You Age, Learn New Skills
Planetary Science
We Need to Widen the 'Habitable Zones' Seen around Alien Stars
Astronomy
Only 26 Black Women Have Ever Become Astrophysicists in the U.S. Here's One's Story
History
Rosalind Franklin Deserves a Posthumous Nobel Prize for Co-discovering DNA Structure
History: October 2023
Arts
Poem: 'Message to My Beloved Sibling'
A Fictional Psychological Thriller about the Rise of AI
Artificial Intelligence