The song was released in the United Kingdom on 11 November 2002 as the second single from A Rush of Blood to the Head and reached number 10 in the UK Charts.

Sundsbø originally created the image that would later be used as the cover art of A Rush of Blood to the Head for the fashion magazine Dazed and Confused, in the late 1990s.

[23] As with the album's other singles, "The Scientist"'s cover art features a black and white 3D scan of one of the band members, in this case drummer Will Champion.

Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone Magazine, in his review of the album, wrote: "The fantastic piano ballad 'The Scientist' ... [has] a cataclysmic falsetto finale that could raise every hair on the back of your neck.

"[24] Nick Southall of Stylus magazine wrote: "The piano that chimes through 'The Scientist' is captured perfectly, the warm depression of each individual key caught rather than a shrill ringing as is so often the case.

"[25] Ian Watson of NME wrote: "'The Scientist' is a song inexorably linked with the endless night sky and the secret hopes and regrets of a hundred thousand strangers.

"[54] Coldplay's original version plus a cover of the track performed by Johnette Napolitano and Danny Lohner were featured in the 2004 film Wicker Park.

[55][56] Allison Iraheta and Kris Allen performed an acoustic duet of the song at Oprah Winfrey's "No Phone Zone" rally in Los Angeles.

[57] In 2011, Willie Nelson covered the song for a Chipotle Mexican Grill short film titled Back to the Start, highlighting the problems of concentrated animal feeding operations.

[59] The song was used on 23 May 2011 episode of WWE Raw in a tribute video to wrestler "Macho Man" Randy Savage who had died three days earlier.

[60] The song was performed in the Glee episode "The Break Up" on 4 October 2012 by Cory Monteith, Darren Criss, Naya Rivera, Matthew Morrison, Lea Michele, Chris Colfer, Heather Morris and Jayma Mays.

[67] The video was filmed at various locations, including London and at Bourne Woods in Surrey, before the first leg of the A Rush of Blood to the Head tour.

Martin is shown, in reverse motion, wandering through a variety of locations such as through a pick-up basketball game, a high street and train tracks before falling on the mattress.

After the second chorus, Martin is shown getting out of his right hand drive BMW 5 Series automobile with a Wyoming license plate in the woods and an unconscious woman (played by Irish actress Elaine Cassidy) is shown, and it is revealed that Martin and the woman were involved in a car accident; the passenger went flying through the windshield because she was not wearing her seatbelt.

[71] On the 20th anniversary of A Rush of Blood to the Head, the band released a new version of the video in 4K resolution, which was restored and re-graded from the original 35 mm film.