Feature
- Astronomy
Peeling Back Orion’s Layers
By studying the most detailed portrait ever assembled of the Orion nebula, astronomers hope to glean new insights about star birth throughout the galaxy.
- Math
All Square
Mathematicians nail down when it's possible to express numbers as the sums of squares.
- Ecosystems
Saving Sturgeon
Sturgeon species around the world are in trouble, which is why humans will increasingly be stepping in to give them a big assist.
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Eat Smart
Your daily diet may have an impact on your brain's resiliency in the face of injury or disease.
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Buff and Brainy
Physical exercise encourages brains to function at an optimum level, even if they're damaged or diseased.
- Humans
Evolution in Action
Debates on the conflict between evolution and intelligent design are taking place not only in the courts but also in state legislatures and even among members of local school boards, where topics include curricula, textbooks, and the definition of science itself.
- Tech
Artificial Animalcules
Advances that include the first swimming micromachine and novel designs for similar devices are deepening scientists' understanding of the bizarre world of microscale liquids.
- Health & Medicine
Flora Horror
A diarrhea-causing bacterium has developed new resistance to a widely used class of antibiotics and has recently become more transmissible and more deadly.
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Self-Serve Brains
New brain-imaging studies and investigations of certain types of brain damage suggest that the right hemisphere typically coordinates one's sense of being a self, with a body and a set of life experiences distinct from those of other people.
- Astronomy
Blasts from the Past
Gamma-ray bursts may soon surpass quasars and galaxies as the most distant known objects in the universe and are likely to provide a new window on the early universe.
- Earth
A Little Less Green?
Emerging data indicate that use of pyrethroid pesticides, even by home owners, poses significant environmental risks.
- Tech
Microbial Moxie
Microbial fuel cells, which take advantage of the fact that some microbes generate electricity when they break down organic matter, could one day power remote sensors, wastewater-treatment plants, and portable devices.
