The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists covers global security and public policy issues, especially related to the dangers posed by nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction.  The Bulletin's primary aim is to inform the public about nuclear policy debates while advocating for the international control of nuclear energy.  Their magazine has been published continuously since 1945 when it was founded by former Manhattan Project physicists after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists of Chicago.  

One of the driving forces behind the creation of the Bulletin was the amount of public interest surrounding atomic energy at the dawn of the atomic age. In 1945 the public interest in atomic warfare and weaponry inspired contributors to the Bulletin to attempt to inform those interested about the dangers and destruction that atomic war could bring about.  To convey the particular peril posed by nuclear weapons, the Bulletin devised the Doomsday Clock in 1947.  The original setting was seven minutes to midnight. The minute hand of the Clock first moved closer to midnight in response to changing world events in 1949, following the first Soviet nuclear test. The Clock is now recognized as a universal symbol of the nuclear age.