Wednesday, 8 February, 2012

Texting already banned for truckers, etc. What do research and reality say about the danger of hitting the keys or yakking on the mobile?

Underground nuclear tests have been the biggest roadblock to a comprehensive test ban. How are these explosions detected, and how reliably?

Less carnage than last time, but why do mass killers pull the trigger? What are the warning signs of “rampage” shootings?

In the brain, dopamine carries signals that make us eat, take drugs and have sex. New research shows that dopamine plays a key role in rewarding mice for aggression.

Wildfires 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?

Hurricanes, disease and heat deliver another body blow to Caribbean coral reefs — the centers of biodiversity, fish nurseries and guardians of shorelines. Must we kiss coral goodbye?

Could something as simple, cheap and natural as a forest protect a coastline from a tsunami’s titanic wave? It’s looking that way…

Cooling failure blamed in aftermath of giant quake. What are the health effects of low-level radiation? Lessons from Hiroshima and Chernobyl.

Salvage logging of forests after natural disturbances is a bad idea, ecologists warn. Evidence from a forest whacked by a 1938 hurricane show how salvage logging changes the landscape.

If we put up a giant umbrella to shield the Earth from global warming, what will happen to plant productivity?