Science & Society
- Physics
Common campfire build confirmed as best
A standard method for building fires, making the height about equal to the width, is the most efficient structure for stoking the hottest flames, calculations show.
- Science & Society
Quantum meets chemistry, opening galaxy of possibility
Chemistry's quantum revolution opens the door for limitless new compounds, and the scientific community scrambles to counteract the spread of a vicious disease.
- Animals
Wealth of cephalopod research lost in a 19th century shipwreck
Nineteenth-century scientist Jeanne Villepreux-Power sent her research papers and equipment on a ship that sank off the coast of France, submerging years’ worth of observations on cephalopods.
- Science & Society
Attempt to shame journalists with chocolate study is shameful
Journalist John Bohannon set out to expose poor media coverage of nutrition studies. In the process, he lied to his own profession and the public.
- Genetics
White House hits pause on editing human germline cells
The White House has hit pause, for now, on clinical experiments that could alter the human germ line.
- Science & Society
Nash’s mind left a beautiful legacy
The death of game theory pioneer John Nash ends a dramatic story of genius.
- Science & Society
Here’s what game theory says about how to win in semifinals
Game theory informs competitors facing off in a semifinal whether to go all out or save energy for the final.
- Science & Society
Gene therapy, Gattaca-style, poses ethical issues
Gene therapy becomes more sophisticated, and the debate over the ethics of DNA tinkering grows.
- Plants
The art and science of the hedgerow
Spiky hawthorn trees have found many uses despite their unforgiving nature, Bill Vaughn writes in ‘Hawthorn.’
- Science & Society
Histories left behind by the dispossessed
‘Dispatches from Dystopia’ chronicles adventures in modernist wastelands to recount tales of the invisible and the overlooked, the exiled and the dispossessed.
- Science & Society
The Dress divided the Internet, but it’s really about subtraction
People really do see different colors in the same photo of a dress, suggesting that our internal models shape color perception far more than has been recognized.
- Science & Society
Working together doesn’t always work
Working as a team is a great way to gather information, but innovative solutions come best from small groups or individuals, a new study suggests.
