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 More »

Patent wars!

How do patents work? What is “new, non-obvious and useful”? What will happen after the biggest change in patent law in 60 years? More »

Native agriculture could be a sophisticated response to a challenging environment. What were the secrets of permaculture, companion More »

Population growth, climate change and development are all focusing attention on water shortages. More »

A “permanent” calendar could finally answer the annual, “Uh, what day is New Year’s eve this year?” question. This calendar would place More »

A crash course in “sink or swim” teaches computerized robots to adapt to changing circumstances. More »

The green revolution fed billions, but population keeps rising, water is short and the climate is changing. How will Africans feed More »

With space shuttles in museums, the near-term American plan to return to space relies on other countries or private firms. More »

Hitting the road? What could be more enlightening than gawking at a cave, exploring a desert, or eyeballing the largest telescope in More »

Long ago, nature devised the hinge and ball and socket for appendages like legs and wings. More »

Could soil help? One-third of soils are degraded. In fighting desertification, erosion and nutrient loss, some soil-restoring More »

Three essential elements drive a tornado: Wet air, dry air, and wind shear. What explains the big improvement in tornado prediction? More »

With three nuclear reactors and three pools of spent fuel teetering on the edge of meltdown, Japanese technicians struggled to throttle More »

Ocean technology on the move: 1: a robot sub smart enough to find stuff in the deep ocean 2: a metal fish glides for weeks under the More »

Ethanol in gasoline now comes mainly from corn, a food crop. Cellulose, found in crop wastes, wood and switchgrass, could be a great More »