Space
Astronauts need oxygen. Magnets could help
Adding a magnet could simplify the process of producing oxygen in space, making a crewed mission to Mars more feasible.
All Topics
Chemistry
Earth
Earth
Recycled glass could help fend off coastal erosion
Sand made from recycled glass can be mixed with sediment to make a medium for plants to grow in. That can help with coastal restoration projects.
Humans
Anthropology
The oldest known mummies have been found — in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asian groups mummified bodies over smoky fires before burying them as early as 12,000 years ago, long before Egyptians began making mummies.
Life
Earth
Recycled glass could help fend off coastal erosion
Sand made from recycled glass can be mixed with sediment to make a medium for plants to grow in. That can help with coastal restoration projects.
Math
Math
See how fractals forever changed math and science
Over the last half 50 years, fractals have challenged ideas about geometry and pushed math, science and technology into unexpected areas.
Physics
Materials Science
Salt can turn frozen water into a weak power source
Experiments reveal that when slabs of salty ice are strained, electricity is generated, though practical uses are still a long way off.
Science & Society
Planetary Science
Future Martians will need to breathe. It won’t be easy
Asteroid impacts, microbes, mining: These are a few tactics engineers might one day use to create an Earthlike atmosphere on Mars.
Space
Space
How a Harvard maverick forever changed our concept of the stars
At just 25, Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin applied quantum physics to a treasure trove of astronomical observations to show that stars are mostly hydrogen and helium.
Tech
Earth
20 years after Hurricane Katrina, is the U.S. better prepared?
Hurricane forecasts have improved since Katrina, but risks from climate change and budget cuts loom.
