Feature
- Earth
Changes in the Air
Changes in the atmospheric concentration of oxygen through geologic time, some gradual and some drastic, have strongly shaped evolution among many types of creatures.
- Math
Surface Story
Mathematicians have zeroed in on a new type of minimal surface based on a double helix.
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The Sum of the Parts
Some researchers are breaking genomes into a collection of parts and precisely reassembling them to do a scientist's bidding.
- Anthropology
The Pirahã Challenge
A linguist has sparked controversy with his proposal that a tribe of about 200 people living in Brazil's Amazon rain forest speaks a language devoid of counting and color terms, clauses, and other elements of grammar often considered to be universal.
- Ecosystems
Valuing Nature
With help from ecotourism-oriented commerce, the threatened birds of Uganda's Mabira Forest Reserve might just save themselves and set an example for conservationists elsewhere.
- Chemistry
A Skunk Walks into a Bar . . .
Research into the chemistry behind unpleasant beer flavors may someday lead to a more flavor-stable brew.
- Planetary Science
Mars or Bust!
Scientists are working to overcome the biomedical challenges that would hinder a human voyage to Mars.
- Health & Medicine
Staring into the Dark
Amid a growing array of medications for treating insomnia, sleep researchers point to large gaps in their knowledge about which of these medicines work best and for how long they remain effective.
- Humans
Katrina’s Fallout
Scientists whose laboratories were devastated by Hurricane Katrina have found help, and sometimes safe havens for their studies, from colleagues around the nation.
- Planetary Science
Groovy Science
The Cassini spacecraft is shedding new light on Saturn's icy rings.
- Physics
That’s the Way the Spaghetti Crumbles
Investigating how uncooked spaghetti breaks has uncovered new mechanisms behind shattering and energy concentration, with possible implications for how structures fail.
- Earth
Runaway Heat?
A variety of changes in the Arctic is making the region darker and accelerating its warming climate.
