Stories by David Biello

A demonstration project in California may prove that steam created with the sun's heat can help get more oil out of the ground

The relatively pleasant global climate of the past 10,000 years is largely thanks to higher levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide

By pairing biology and photovoltaics, a new "electrofuel" system could build alternative fuels

Fossil rain suggests the atmosphere 2.7 billion years ago boasted a hydrocarbon haze

Can small, LEGO-like reactors help create better prospects for the nuclear industry?

Scientists have debated whether climate change or human activity wiped out the world's megafauna. In Australia new evidence points to hunting--and only hunting

The U.K. is grappling with how to get rid of weapons-grade plutonium and may employ a novel reactor design to consume it

The U.S. government aims to improve energy production from renewables to oil, but what does that mean in practice?

The U.S. has reactors of the same designs that melted down at Fukushima Daiichi, but regulators hope changes could prevent a repeat of Japan's nuclear crisis

The Fukushima evacuation zone raises the issue of what would happen during an evacuation in heavily populated U.S. metropolises during a nuclear meltdown

Curbing methane and soot may be a fast, if incomplete, way to slow global warming

Michael E. Mann set out looking for a big scientific problem and wound up at the center of a political storm over climate change. Now he tells his side of the story

The third annual ARPA-E summit showcases potentially transformative energy technologies

Material changes enable a new battery to store more electricity--and could boost the driving range of electric vehicles

A genetic analysis reveals the ancient, complex--and symbiotic--roots of photosynthesis in plants

Based on some fundamental characteristics of cellular proteins, a team of scientists speculates that the last common ancestor of life on Earth got its start in the planet's natural hot tubs

But no nuclear renaissance appears to be imminent, despite the go-ahead to build and operate two new reactors in Georgia

A warming ocean is encouraging the growth of coral in the far Southern Hemisphere, overriding any effects of "acidification"

South Africa still struggles to ensure that all citizens enjoy modern energy services, just one example of how the U.N.'s International Year of Sustainable Energy for All aims to bring modern energy resources to the billions who lack it

A new analysis concludes that easily extracted oil peaked in 2005, suggesting that dirtier fossil fuels will be burned and energy prices will rise

A genetically modified strain of common gut bacteria may lead to a new technology for making biofuels that does not compete with food crops for arable acreage