Thursday, 9 February, 2012

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.

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?

Are software filters for the Internet censorship — or common sense? How do filters work? We take a filter for a test drive and ask, what are the intellectual stakes?

Space shuttle Columbia has crashed, raising questions about research on the space shuttle and the International Space Station. Should we do space science by robots or manned vehicles?

Airbus crashes in New York — composite material fails and tail fin falls off. Why are composites (usually) so strong? How are they used in roads, bikes and planes?