Scientific American Magazine

Neural circuits responsible for conscious self-control are highly vulnerable to even mild stress. When they shut down, primal impulses go unchecked, and mental paralysis sets in

Artist Charles R. Knight drew on his vast experience depicting living animals to bring prehistoric creatures to life—a practice that made him keenly aware of the finality of extinction

As the number of cases of the paralytic disease fall, world health officials have to grapple with a vexing problem: a component of the most widely used polio vaccine now causes more disease than the virus it is supposed to fight

Imagine space were 2-D rather than 3-D. How would the force of gravity work? The surprising answers are guiding physicists to a unified theory of nature

While the superpowers were busy threatening to destroy each other with nuclear weapons, Albert B. Sabin turned to a surprising ally to test his new oral polio vaccine—a Soviet scientist

It's logical to think that the brain's need for oxygen is what limits how long people can hold their breath. Logical, but not the whole story

The next rover to roam the moon's surface may come not from NASA and its rocket scientists but from college students and private companies working on a shoestring

Sensational fossils from South Africa spark debate over how we came to be human