Scientific American Volume 334, Issue 5

Scientific American Volume 334, Issue 5

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The hidden cause of heart disease is inflammation

Immune system overreactions may be the true culprit of cardiac illness—and lifesaving drugs can calm them down

How strange new ‘altermagnets’ could rewrite physics

How the discovery of altermagnets could change physics and computing

How birds survived the dinosaurs’ doomsday

Scientists finally understand why birds were the only dinosaurs to pull through the end-Cretaceous mass extinction

With the rise of private orbital habitats, vacations in space are becoming a real possibility for the ultrawealthy

Inside the labs where chemists engineer luxury perfumes

At Givaudan and IFF, chemists build—and safeguard—new aroma molecules tightly linked to emotion and memory

How a lost 1812 wristwatch sparked a 200-year race in precision engineering

Modern luxury watches can be traced back to one of Napoleon Bonaparte’s younger sisters

Are expensive binoculars really worth it?

Binoculars and other far-range optics span a gamut of price points. Here’s what separates top-tier from entry-level