Stories by Katherine Harmon Courage

Trillions of tiny animals may be coordinating their movements in ways that affect every organism on the planet

In a Q&A, loss expert Pauline Boss talks about coping with extreme uncertainty in the wake of a disaster

COVID deaths are leaving millions bereaved. For some, the intense grief never recedes, making daily life almost impossible

There are times when critically ill patients must wait for beds, and some facilities have contingency plans to limit scarce supplies to certain patients

Scientific American editor Alfred Ely Beach revealed the secretly built wonder in 1870

This magazine launched a contest to prove, or disprove, the existence of ghosts

Scientists across the globe have been cut off from sites and experimental resources—or stranded abroad

Research shows that animals interact in amazingly sophisticated ways

A video captures the dark side of insect mind control

Genome study finds mutations passed on from parents are linked to at least one in 12 cancers in kids

New research reveals that animals interact in surprisingly sophisticated ways

The largest invertebrate genetic code unleashes clues to camouflage, suckers, evolution

Koalas rely on specialized bacteria to digest eucalyptus, but antibiotics to stop sexually transmitted infections might be killing the microbes off

New studies find the type, number and diversity of bacteria could influence vaccine response rates for rotavirus, tetanus and more in kids

A lifelike, if stilted, robot makes her debut at a Japanese department store, while a smaller bot is ready to answer questions at a local bank

While probiotics receive more attention, key fibers remain the workhorses in maintaining a healthy gut microbiome

New research reveals that animals interact in surprisingly sophisticated ways

Today, after more than three years, I must bid farewell to Octopus Chronicles on ScientificAmerican.com. It has been a wild, weird, and fun run.

As many mysteries as the octopus holds—its comprehensive camouflage, smart suckers, agile brain—its genome is surely holding many more (including how it can regenerate its arms—suckers, nerves and all).

First a moment to celebrate Octopus Chronicles‘ 100th post! Little could I have imagined when I started this blog in November 2011 that there would be so much amazing octopus research to cover—and so many wonderful readers.

It’s not very often that a movie comes out that features an octopus as one of the main (speaking) characters. (And they only occasionally become the star of a video game.) So if you wouldn’t mind indulging me for a brief detour into animation territory, let’s see what Hollywood gets right (and wrong) about this [...]

There are some 300 known species of octopus. From the huge giant Pacific octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini) to the tiny poisonous blue-ringed octopus (genus Hapalochlaena), from the shallow-water mimic octopus (Thaumoctopus mimicus) to the deep-sea Dumbo octopus (genus Grimpoteuthis).

Octopuses long ago shed their ancestors’ protective shells in favor of a slinkier, floppier, softer existence. They were perhaps never meant to be held down by hard covers.

For cannibals, octopuses seem to be surprisingly fun loving. Some have been observed using their funnels to repeatedly blow objects around in their tanks.