Feeling cramped? New measurement says the universe is bigger than you thought. Meet the astronomers’ new yardstick.

Did red rain in India carry alien bacteria? One Indian scientist thinks so. Others say it was just spores of a common alga. Pay your money, take your choice!

Korean scientist pulled off the biggest scientific fraud in memory. How did he do it? How is science supposed to prevent fraud? Why did it matter, and who loses out?

A new year is a chance to bring sanity to our medical, scientific and environmental disasters. Here’s our wish-list for a better New Year!

If (gasp!) the subject is too big for a Whyfile, hit the books. Here, we review four great science books, on evolution, environment, fighting nature, and discovering motherly love.

This Why File surveys the latest in forensic anthropology, with a visit to the Forensic Anthropology Center at the University of Tennessee, AKA The Body Farm.

Will terrorists use biological weapons? How have bio-weapons been used in the past?

What are the medical and psychological costs of long-term space travel? Radiation, isolation, osteoporosis: Sounds like a real picnic to us! Intrigued? You could always overwinter in the Antarctic…

Ancient mathematician’s writing found, restored, after 22 centuries!

A MAD look at science. Science fair projects we’d like to see, weird wonk words, and creative uses for radioactive waste.