Feature

  1. Earth

    Danger in the Air

    To minimize the threat of volcanic ash plumes to aircraft, scientists are improving methods of satellite detection and developing ground-based gas and ash-plume sensors to monitor volcanic activity.

    By Sid Perkins

  2. Little by Little

    As food allergies proliferate, new strategies may help patients ingest their way to tolerance.

    By Laura Beil
  3. Psychology

    Morality Play

    Universal concerns, not cultural values, may shape kids’ developing notions of right and wrong.

    By Bruce Bower
  4. Space

    The Status Quark

    Murray Gell-Mann reflects on matter’s building blocks and scientists’ resistance to new ideas.

    By Tom Siegfried

  5. Disaster Goes Global

    The eruption in 1600 of a seemingly quiet volcano in Peru changed global climate and triggered famine as far away as Russia

    By Sid Perkins
  6. Earth

    Shaky Forecasts

    Despite past failures, geophysicists think earthquake prediction might still be possible.

    By Kristina Bartlett Brody

  7. What do you see?

    Emotion may help the visual system jump the gun to predict what the brain will see.

    By Jenny Lauren Lee

  8. Pearls Unstrung

    For a while, the Great Lakes weren’t connected by rivers and Niagara Falls was just a trickle.

    By Sid Perkins

  9. Smart from the start

    Animal embryos get some respect for their survival skills.

    By Susan Milius
  10. Planetary Science

    Stars go kaboom, spilling cosmic secrets

    Astronomers hope type 1a supernovas will help in quest to explain dark energy.

    By Ron Cowen

  11. Venom hunters

    Scientists probe toxins, revealing the healing powers of biochemical weapons.

    By Laura Sanders

  12. When Humor Humiliates

    For gelotophobes, even good-natured laughter can sound a lot like ridicule.

    By Susan Gaidos