Scientific American Editors

Since the first Mars-bound probes were launched in the 1960s, the planet has intrigued scientists and the public alike due to its potential for human habitability. However, despite its many similarities to Earth, so far there has been no conclusive evidence that life has existed on Mars. Although no human has actually traveled to the planet, the scientific community has extensively studied its geology, climate, and history. This title examines past...

We harbor roughly the same number of microbes as we have cells. This complex ecosystem is crucial to our health, affecting many processes including immunity, child development and bone density regulation. Research in this area has exploded, and in this eBook, we highlight some of the most exciting work on how the microbiome develops, its influence on brain and behavior and implications in both contributing to and treating various disorders.

Sports are a human universal: humans in all cultures play them, and they've done so for a long, long time. This title is for readers whose interest in sports and athleticism goes deeper than stats of their favorite players and the standings of their favorite teams. The articles collected here answer questions about the physical and psychological conditions that make elite athletes, they look at the effects of technology in sports, and they explore...

Women have too long been an afterthought: denied equal opportunity at home and in society and ignored by science. Recent decades brought progress toward some measure of parity, but yawning gaps remain, and some are growing, threatening to undermine everyone's well-being. In this eBook, we explore research on the scientific and economic implications of gender disparity in the realms of economics, politics, education and health care.

How did life begin on Earth? Does it exist elsewhere? What would those life forms be like? These fundamental questions about the nature of life and our own cosmic significance are endlessly fascinating. In this eBook, we present several theories on the origin of life, some of its extreme and surprising forms and the ongoing search for signs - or sentience - on distant worlds.

Making ethical decisions involves more than listening to an inner moral compass, a feeling in the gut of what's right and wrong; and questions of ethics in science are becoming increasingly complex, especially as technology encroaches upon even our most private cellular spaces. In this eBook, Doing the Right Thing: Ethics in Science, we cover a wide range of areas in science and medicine where complicated ethical questions come to bear, including...

The Book of Revelation, the Maya, Nostradamus - humans have speculated about the end since, well, the beginning. In this eBook we look at several "end of the world" scenarios - or at least, things that could make human life really difficult.

Art and music are often seen as separate from science, but there is a lot to learn when they are considered together: STEAM! Young scientists investigate chromatography, photography, tone, and how music is made with different objects in this super-fun book of experiments, presented by Scientific American. Each project is preceded by a Background section that explains the scientific concept that the experiment or activity is exploring. The clear instructions...

Water molecules are amazing-and so is just plain water! In this book, young scientists investigate how water droplets can magnify, the magic of surface tension, and the effects of adding salt to water when potatoes are in it! Each of the 10 projects inclu

Addiction is costly on many levels to the individuals affected, their families and society as a whole, but science may soon be able to offer treatment options to make the road to recovery a little smoother. In this eBook, Understanding Addiction, we tackle the many facets of this complex issue.