Science & Society

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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Science & Society

    E-commerce sites personalize search results to maximize profits

    Travel and retail websites alter search results depending on whether consumers use smartphones or particular web browsers.

    By Rachel Ehrenberg
  2. Astronomy

    A musician composes a solar soundtrack

    Robert Alexander combines life long passions of both music and astronomy to uncover solar secrets.

    By Christopher Crockett
  3. Science & Society

    Two books explore winding path from basic science to useful invention

    ‘How We Got to Now’ and ‘Science Unshackled’ explain how basic scientific research can transform society in unexpected ways.

    By Sid Perkins
  4. Cosmology

    ‘The Theory of Everything’ reveals Stephen Hawking’s personal side

    A new film explores love and science in the life of physicist Stephen Hawking.

    By Andrew Grant
  5. Math

    In science, popularity breeds unreliability

    Popularity can mean unreliability both in science news coverage and within research itself.

    By Tom Siegfried
  6. Chemistry

    Crystallography celebrates centennial

    Dubbed the international year of crystallography, 2014 marks the centennial of X-ray diffraction.

    By Beth Mole
  7. Science & Society

    Nobels go to maps, LEDs, microscopy

    The 2014 Nobel Prizes in chemistry, physics and physiology or medicine went to discoveries that defy single-discipline labels.

    By Andrew Grant, Beth Mole, Meghan Rosen and Laura Sanders
  8. Health & Medicine

    Zero calories and other awe-inspiring science tales

    In this issue, reporters look at artificial sweeteners, resurrecting a West Coast plant, quasiparticles and the future of our magazine and its parent non-profit, SSP.

    By Eva Emerson
  9. Science & Society

    SSP’s new leader has a habit of making things happen

    Maya Ajmera takes the helm as the president and CEO of the Society for Science & the Public and publisher of Science News.

    By Science News
  10. Climate

    19th century chronicles offer clues to mystery volcano

    Meteorological records narrow down the time and place of a massive volcanic eruption that helped trigger a decade of extreme cold.

    By Beth Mole
  11. Science & Society

    Top 10 science anniversaries in 2014

    2014 is a rich year for scientific anniversaries, from the birth of Vesalius to quantum factoring.

    By Tom Siegfried
  12. Science & Society

    Syria’s World Heritage Sites severely damaged by war

    Satellite images reveal that five of the country’s six World Heritage Sites have suffered damage and some structures have been completely destroyed.

    By Beth Mole