Biomimicry Comes for the Noble Hedgehog
Inventors often use animals' adaptations to the environment in applications that benefit humans, from sharky swimsuits to hedgehog-inspired helmets.
How 19th-Century Scientists Predicted Global Warming
Today’s headlines make climate change seem like a recent discovery. But Eunice Newton Foote and others have been piecing it together for centuries.
Will Graphene Deliver on Its Promise?
Strong, stable, and conductive at one atom thick, graphene has amazing potential in a variety of applications. But is hype all the material has?
On the History of the Artificial Womb
Will outside-the-womb gestation, increasingly viable for animal embryos, lead to a feminist utopia? Or to something like Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World?
The Potential Pros and Cons of Seabed Mining
Concentrations of iron manganese nuggets and other metals in the deep seabed have stirred up interest in mining. But at what cost?
The Amoral Scientist
Fritz Haber was a chemist who made discoveries that improved global agriculture… but also helped spawn the modern era of chemical warfare.
Lee Smolin: Science Works Because We Care to Know the Truth
Lee Smolin speaks on quantum gravity, the nature of time, the role of ethics in science, and the importance of realism.
Coexisting With Crocodiles
Conservation efforts have led to increased crocodile populations in areas like the Philippines. It's great news for the crocs. Not so much for the people.
Mating at the Zoo Can Be Dangerous
A Sumatran tiger killed the female he was meant to mate with. Mating endangered species in captivity has long been a problem, if not always to such dramatic effect.
Voyager 2 Heads into the Unknown
Forty-one years after its launch, Voyager 2 has officially crossed out of the solar system and into interstellar space. What has it discovered along the way?