Anna Kuchment is a contributing editor at Scientific American and a staff science reporter at the Dallas Morning News. She is also co-author of a forthcoming book about earthquakes triggered by energy production.
This Year, Give Them Brains
Each year we poll scientists and educators on ideas for books, puzzles and toys that foster inquiry. This season's picks range from a top that never stops spinning to a build-it-yourself skull.
Ask Brian Greene Anything-Really
Where Rotting Pumpkins and Engineering Converge
Why Minnesotans Excel at Math, and Other Mysteries of the Nation’s Report Card
Every two years, the Nation's Report Card test results come out and remind us how much better most American students should be doing in math (and reading, but I’m going to focus just on math here).
Zombie Insects: A Q&A about a Sinister Virus
A bug expert discusses a sinister virus that causes gypsy moth caterpillars to self-destruct
Cold Cases: Scientists use a variety of tools to help them identify human remains [Slide Show]
Forensic anthropologists refer to animal skeletons and to new 3D software to help identify victims.
Woolly Bear Olympics, Ball Galls, and more fall bug fun
October 2011 Advances Section: Additional Resources
How Skulls Speak
New 3-D software is helping scientists identify the sex and ancestral origins of human remains with greater speed and precision
A Biology Teacher's Ode to Sir David Attenborough
The New, New Math: A Parent's Guide
Get your own earthquake sensor, and other temblor tips
A moth is born
A moth is born!
How to raise a science fair champ
Inside the Second Avenue Subway, under Construction: A Photo Tour [Slide Show]
An exploration of the vast dig that will soon become New York City's newest subway line
Adopting a Caterpillar, and other adventures
A Hub for Kids and Science
Hello, and welcome to Budding Scientist. This is an exciting time for anyone concerned about the quality of science education in the United States.
Underground Railroad: A Peek inside New York City's Subway Line of the Future
Questions for the Itch Doctor
The head of a new center that focuses on itch explains the sensation's biological roots and what we still don't know about it
July 2011 Advances: Additional resources
The Advances section of Scientific American's July issue chronicles tree-saving tortoises, the largest spider fossil ever discovered, an update on the hunt for dark matter, and many other developments.
The Smartest Bacteria on Earth
One species of soil microbe makes unusually wise communal decisions
When Cars Are Greener Than People
New hope for preventing pre-term births