Archive for the ‘Abilities of technological design’ Category

Fertilizing the ocean - Thursday, August 6th, 2009

As Earth warms, we may need huge geoengineering projects to fight climate change. Would adding iron to fertilize ocean plants withdraw enough carbon dioxide to slow warming? Could the plan backfire?

Happy Thanksgiving! We celebrate eating — and food. - Thursday, November 20th, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving! We celebrate eating — and food. Hungry: Is that your “food clock” ringing? Why does a fruitfly need to smell? How does bitter taste to you? And could eating MSG make you fat?

Hungry? History has lessons for improving farm productivity. - Thursday, April 24th, 2008

After World War II, the “green revolution” sparked an explosion in farm output in developing countries. With soaring food prices and spreading food riots, what can we learn from the green revolution?

Pilot perfection: Errors plunge! - Thursday, January 3rd, 2008

Pilot errors have dropped 40 percent over 20 years, but on-the-ground accidents have increased. Why have pilot errors declined? What work remains to increase airline safety?

California burnin’: Are we building in harm’s way? - Thursday, November 1st, 2007

California’s fires are a tragedy, but are human actions making them worse? What is the role of global warming and zoning? Can we build safer houses in safer locations?

Tree frog’s foot yields re-stickable glue! - Thursday, October 11th, 2007

Most adhesives can’t be reused. But a radical new design, based on the foot of frogs, lizards and insects, shows how engineers can learn from nature to make smarter materials.

Katrina + 1: Where Should We Rebuild? - Thursday, August 24th, 2006

It’s a fact of life: Hurricanes and floods happen. So why are people rebuilding in the path of storms and floods? Is there a smarter way to plan development?

Simple fix boosts truck mileage. - Thursday, November 10th, 2005

Trucks create a lot of turbulence at the rear. Can a simple set of plates reduce this turbulence and save 10 percent on an 18-wheeler’s fuel bill?

Time to Reconsider the Leap Second - Thursday, September 29th, 2005

The solar clock doesn’t quite line up with the atomic clock. We use leap seconds to make them match. Should we dump the leap second?

Homestake Goldmine: Science Lab? - Thursday, July 10th, 2003

An international team of scientists selected the Homestake goldmine to be the world’s deepest underground lab, but the project may sink.

Cool Science Images

SciMax Theater

Virtual Science!

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