Stories by Charles Q. Choi

The failure rate may be 90 percent, but if any of these exotic technologies succeeds, it could significantly improve energy security and efficiency

Engineers are planning to entomb the site of the worst nuclear accident in history, using robotics to dismantle the ruins and permanently seal the wreckage

Controlling parents tend to have children who are academically above average but depressed

On the eve of the 25th anniversary of the nuclear disaster at the Chernobyl power plant in Ukraine, Scientific American frequent contributor Charles Q. Choi traveled to the site and snapped these haunting images

To safely enclose and robotically dismantle the 25-year-old makeshift confinement sarcophagus at Chernobyl, contractors are now erecting a massive steel structure weighing more than 29,000 metric tons

Radioactive fallout seems like the obvious culprit behind the negative medical consequences that arose after the explosion at Chernobyl, but it's hard to measure even the dosage those contaminated received, let alone link it to medical problems

Scientists are developing iPhone apps that aid in research and that appeal to "citizen scientists" as well

Droids met the challenge of perceiving their self-image and reflecting on their own thoughts as part an effort to develop robots that are more adaptable in unpredictable situations

Gamers and hackers could control the office as well as games with Microsoft's Kinect

A new study suggests that humans and their nearest evolutionary cousins not only transmit personality traits via their facial characteristics, but that people can pick up on these cues from both species

Researchers illustrate a delicate method that could boost research into artificial spider silk—a material that is stronger than steel

A law professor's new memoir has stoked controversy because of its suggestion that a strict, authoritarian upbringing leads to academic success. But what does the scientific evidence say?

The hormone promotes warm social feelings but can also promote in-group favoritism and ethnocentrism, suggesting there is a lot we don't know yet about the "cuddle chemical"

Modern technology has made online groups the top destination for leaked information, but it does not have to signal the end of traditional outlets

Off-the-shelf technology could ward off missile attacks on military helicopters