Science News

All Stories by Science News

  1. Chemistry

    Molecules/Matter & Energy

    3-D effects without the glasses, plus portable X-rays and linking qubits in this week’s news.

  2. Earth

    Earth/Environment

    Forecasting volcanic eruptions, plus saving mangroves and long-distance pollution in this week’s news.

  3. Health & Medicine

    Body & Brain

    Food tastes less fatty to overweight people, plus an itch protein and thirsty rats in this week’s news.

  4. Genes & Cells

    The genes for caffeine cravings, plus rare variants and shaping eyes in this week’s news.

  5. Book Review: The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos by Brian Greene

    Review by Tom Siegfried.

  6. Book Review: The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement by David Brooks

    Review by Bruce Bower.

  7. Cosmic Challenge: The Ultimate Observing List for Amateurs by Philip S. Harrington

    This guide to observing the heavens beckons backyard astronomers to find 187 targets using instruments ranging from bi­noculars to monster scopes. Cambridge Univ. Press, 2011, 469 p., $45.    

  8. Discoverers of the Universe: William and Caroline Herschel by Michael Hoskin

    An in-depth account of the lives of sibling astronomers William and Caroline Herschel, who discovered Uranus, comets galore and much more. Princeton Univ. Press, 2011, 237 p., $29.95.        

  9. How Old is the Universe? by David A. Weintraub

    An astronomer outlines the research showing that the universe is 13.7 billion years old. Princeton Univ. Press, 2011, 370 p., $29.95.           

  10. Seven Wonders of the Universe That You Probably Took for Granted by C. Renée James

    A lighthearted tour of everyday phenomena like light, time and gravity that also explores what makes Earth special and the evolution of life. Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 2011, 240 p., $25.    

  11. Meteorites by Caroline Smith, Sara Russell and Gretchen Benedix

    A well-illustrated overview of the science and (literal) impacts of these space rocks. Firefly Books, 2011, 112 p., $19.95.

  12. Science Past from the issue of April 22, 1961

    RUSSIAN FIRST MAN IN SPACE — The Russians put the first man in orbit and returned him safely. A Soviet Air Force major, father of two, has circled the earth in 89.1 minutes, and come back, the official Russian news agency Tass reported. The height of the orbit varied from 110 to 188 miles. Maj. […]