Stories by Philip Yam

Who hasn't worked with a disagreeable person—and in the world of science publishing, authored a paper with one?  That wasn't exactly what went through the mind of William Hoover, a physicist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, when he included an Italian co-author to his 1987 paper.

Pi may be a universal constant, but only two countries can natively celebrate Pi Day: the U.S. and Belize. That's because they are the only ones (if Wikipedia is correct) to shorthand their date format so that it can match the first few digits of pi (3.1415), or March 14, 2015.

NEW YORK CITY—No matter how smart you are, or how educated you are, you can be deceived. That's the wisdom from—and what I gather is the driving force behind–James "The Amazing" Randi, the renowned illusionist, escape artist and debunker of psychics, spoon benders, faith healers and other charlatans willing to prey on others.

  After nearly 16 years, the U.S. has agreed to import beef from Ireland—the first European country to get the go-ahead since the epidemic of mad cow disease swept the continent In the 1980s and 1990s.

Diversity brings excellence to science, the workplace and other human endeavors, as research is showing. And the media plays a crucial role in shaping how society views its members, second perhaps only to the entertainment industry in such influence.

Hatchling sea turtles face daunting odds in surviving to adulthood, and only a few find a way. Just where they go to find food and hide from predators has remained a mystery until earlier this year, when Kate Mansfield, a biologist at the University of Central Florida, came up with a novel way to stick [...]

The more complex the mind, the greater the need for play. Okay, I ripped that off from Star Trek, episode 15, but I like to think the conceit applies to the Scientific American community of readers, writers, editors and authors

Ever wonder what the wave function is? Or what the differences are between genes, chromosomes and DNA? Or why chimps are stronger than humans?

The harvest moon is almost upon us—specifically, September 19. It’s the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox, and it has deep significance in our cultural histories.

If you’re a fan of optical illusions and perceptual tricks, check out this AsapSCIENCE video. As usual, producers Michael Moffitt and Gregory Brown do a great job distilling the essential ideas and presenting them in a fun, entertaining and informative way.

Infectious agents called prions can resist standard sterilization and are difficult to diagnose, posing tough challenges for hospitals

I know, you’re disappointed that we don’t have the flying cars and moving sidewalks as promised in those old film reels from the 1950s and 60s that you may have seen in school.

Weather and GPS information stimulated the economy with new products and services. Todd Park, the U.S. chief technology officer, wants to repeat that success with the rest of the government’s data trove

Spotted at the State of the Union address, Bobak Ferdowsi, the Mars Curiosity flight engineer famous for his hairstyle, describes his role as an ambassador for Mars

Did early Polynesians ruin their lush island by overlogging to move giant statues? A method that "walks" the statues casts doubt—and supports Polynesian mythology. A NOVA video

Recent experiments have begun to demonstrate how the weird world of quantum mechanics gives way to the familiarity of everyday experience

A pricey way to determine health risks: 250 tests at once