Feature
- Earth
The facts behind the frack
The gas, primarily methane, is cheap and relatively clean. Because America is brimful of the stuff, harvesting the fuel via fracking could provide the country jobs and reduce its dependence on foreign sources of energy.
-
As Told By the Egg
The story of fertilization, from the female point of view.
-
Uncommon Carriers
People have a surprising number of rare genetic variants.
-
Tangled Roots
Mingling among Stone Age peoples muddies humans’ evolutionary story.
-
Himalaya Rush
Scientists scurry to figure out the status of glaciers on the roof of the world
-
- Health & Medicine
Cartilage Creation
New joint tissue could keep people moving, reducing need for knee or hip replacements.
- Health & Medicine
The Brain Set Free
Lifting neural constraints could turn back time, making way for youthful flexibility.
- Particle Physics
Nature’s secrets foretold
After decades of searching, it seems scientists have found the elusive Higgs boson.
- Particle Physics
A primer on the long-sought Higgs boson
Discovering the Higgs boson is cause for celebration — and for explanation, of what the particle is and why it matters.
- Health & Medicine
Catching a Cancer
The official figure for the percentage of human cancers caused by viruses is around 20 percent — but most experts concede that number is largely an educated guess
- Cosmology
Inflation on Trial
Generally regarded as one of the most successful theories about the early universe, inflationary cosmology is not exactly under attack. But a few scientists are questioning whether it deserves its reputation as completely untouchable.
