Sunday, 19 May, 2013

Space messengers: Private or public?

Meteorite hunters were out in force after the biggest impact in 100 years injured more than 1,200. Does the meteorite market damage science by sending the best samples to private collections, or does it feed science as well as the market?

Thursday, February 28th, 2013

Counting bugs in Panama

Life is biology is species: But how many species live on Earth? About six million arthropods (insects, spiders and crustaceans), says a new study.

Thursday, December 13th, 2012

When dead men speak…

British archeologists unearthed bones of Richard III, who died in 1485 after a murderous reign. How do bones, isotopes, historic records, DNA and grave goods tell us about the dead?

Thursday, October 4th, 2012

Galactic rays

Scientists have tracked a light beam that’s half-a-million light years long to a monster black hole and found that the hole and its disk of orbiting junk are spinning in parallel. Their new, supersize radio telescope promises more details on black holes at the center of most galaxies, including ours.

Thursday, September 27th, 2012

Finding the killers — in advance

Can we spot these young, male, angry, frustrated killers in advance? Will science help us identify them in time?

Thursday, August 2nd, 2012

Final score: Mustard-bomb plant 1, mouse 0

Plants and animals are in a constant struggle for survival and reproduction. Plant toxins prevent most animals from eating their seeds and destroying them. No kidding: A desert mouse is smart enough to eat edible fruit flesh without triggering the “mustard-oil bomb”!

Thursday, June 14th, 2012

Mourning the dying weather satellites

We love accurate weather forecasts, but the weather satellites they rely on are nearing the boneyard. Some replacements have crashed into the ocean, others are in financial limbo. Be very worried about our fragile planet: these satellites also track climate, ice, fire, and the health of forests and ocean!

Thursday, June 7th, 2012

Super-volcanoes!

Take a modern volcano, and multiply it by 1,000. That’s a super-volcano. Their rare eruptions change landscapes and weather. How long can giant pools of molten rock sit beneath the surface before a super-v blows? A new study says, not long at all…

Thursday, May 31st, 2012

Denial of science, science of denial Tobacco and cancer. CFCs and ozone. Vaccines and autism. And evolution through natural selection, acid rain and global warming. Why do the facts get lost in a cacophony of argument, falsehood and outright denial? A conference looks at why the media get taken for a ride, and how they can improve.
Thursday, May 3rd, 2012

Shaking it up: Maverick scientist dies

Sometimes, scientists feel the need to leave the lab and warn the public about onrushing hazards. Rowland warned about ozone, but others are warning about warming. Does scientific culture encourage or hinder going public? Does the helpful response to ozone depletion suggest we’ll succeed in confronting global warming?

Thursday, March 22nd, 2012

Flying robots

Compared to regular airplanes, radio-controlled craft are safer, cheaper, and easier to use for observing wildlife and environmental conditions. Where are these robots being used? What are they finding? And as prices continue to fall, what stands in the way of much broader use?

Thursday, February 9th, 2012

Chasing neutrinos at the South Pole

Neutrinos are odd: Extremely difficult to see, they travel through mass with scarcely a trace. A 1-billion ton detector in South Pole ice is now counting neutrinos, intent on understanding their origin and role in the universe, and even spotting echoes of the Big Bang.

Thursday, January 26th, 2012

Dr. Darwin teaches robot!

A crash course in “sink or swim” teaches computerized robots to adapt to changing circumstances. When taught by “directed evolution,” robots that started without legs learned to walk sooner than robots that started with legs! Can you explain?

Thursday, January 5th, 2012

New math mavens = pigeons?

Can pigeons learn an abstract mathematical rule? Apparently, according to a new study, which asked pigeons to place, five blue dots and eight green squares, in ascending order. Now we know birds and primates can both do this, but where and why did this ability originate?

Thursday, December 22nd, 2011

Flight without wings

Scientists thought wings were the first evidence of flight. But plenty of falling ants can glide back to “their” tree to avoid being devoured on the forest floor. If an ant’s brain and body are able to detect its position and change its flight path, is gliding the first flight?

Thursday, December 8th, 2011