London pioneered video surveillance in public, but it’s catching on fast. Many major cities have systems, and more are coming. What do these cameras learn? How do they interact with other sources of data? In this culture of disclosure should we even worry about privacy?

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?

To measure the molecules that give food taste, you need a standardized eating machine. One has finally arrived, courtesy of food technologists in France (of all places!). Meet the mechanical masticator!

With the Nevada waste dump 20 years late, deadly radwaste still piles up. Would removing the plutonium for new fuel aid proliferators or help with waste storage? The debate continues.

For the scientist or wanna-be who’s (almost) got it all: We scour the planet to find ancient wood, ancient-er ice, and a bamboo microscope. Dive into our holiday gift catalog slide-show!

Most music is built on the 12-tone “chromatic” scale. Does this reflect chance, or the basic structure of the human voice? New study finds tight link between pronunciation and musical scale.

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?

Coal ash is a giant garbage problem. Should we recycle more ash into concrete? A new process might save cement, rock, and landfill space.

Want to make alternative fuel? Need to get electricity directly from organic slop? Bacteria may have the perfect answer.

Who invented writing in the New World? New find in Guatemala may give credit to the Mayans, even though this is probably not the first Mayan writing.