Feature

  1. Tools for the mission

    Hunting data A number of instruments now operating or proposed can troll the skies or otherwise help to answer some of the most puzzling questions about the universe. Planck  A European Space Agency observatory launched in 2009, Planck is recording a more detailed picture of the cosmic microwave background, the relic radiation left over from […]

    By Science News

  2. Hanging in the balance

    What is the fate of the universe?

    By Elizabeth Quill

  3. Out of the fabric

    Are space and time fundamental?

    By Tom Siegfried

  4. Strung together

    Is there a theory of everything?

    By Matt Crenson

  5. In the dark

    What is the universe made of?

    By Alexandra Witze

  6. Pre-Bang branes and bubbles

    What happened before the big bang?

    By Ron Cowen

  7. Cosmic questions, answers pending

    Special section

    By Tom Siegfried

  8. Big Fishing Yields Small Fish

    Researchers map predator loss and predict unstable oceans.

    By Janet Raloff

  9. Star Cents

    How the cost of NASA’s next big space telescope skyrocketed.

    By Ron Cowen

  10. Backup Bees

    Luring and taming wild pollinators for help on the farm.

    By Susan Milius

  11. Better by Design

    Avoiding undesirable traits from the start could help chemists make molecules less meddlesome.

    By Rachel Ehrenberg
  12. Life

    Dining In

    A process called autophagy, is a means of self-preservation, cleansing and stress management for a cell.With their sights on fighting disease, scientists are now uncovering the mechanics that keep autophagy in balance.

    By Tina Hesman Saey