The SciencesSeptember 15, 2011
NASA's New Rocket: Will Congress's Pet Project Fly?
Stories by John Matson
John Matson is a former reporter and editor for Scientific American who has written extensively about astronomy and physics.
Space & PhysicsSeptember 14, 2011
Star-Crossed: Milky Way's Spiral Shape May Result from a Smaller Galaxy's Impact
Encounters with the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy could have had huge effects on the structure of the Milky Way
The SciencesSeptember 13, 2011
Kabul Embassy Was Beefed Up after 1998 Bombings in Kenya and Tanzania
TechnologySeptember 10, 2011
Direct Response: 5 Pre-9/11 Security Breaches and the Safety Measures That Followed
Long before 2001 authorities were scrambling to respond to deadly attacks of all kinds
September 9, 2011
Shaping Up: 10 Engineering and Design Facts about One World Trade Center [Infographic]
What was once called the Freedom Tower should soon become the tallest building in the U.S. It will also be among the best prepared in the nation for a terrorist attack or other emergency
TechnologySeptember 7, 2011
Commemorative Calculus: How an Algorithm Helped Arrange the Names on the 9/11 Memorial
Underlying the memorial's seemingly random layout of nearly 3,000 names is a complex and deeply human order
HealthSeptember 1, 2011
Her Summer Pastime? Cancer Research
High school student Shree Bose discusses her win at the first Google Science Fair
EnvironmentSeptember 1, 2011
What Is It?
A hole in the sky
Space & PhysicsAugust 31, 2011
U.S. Taking Initial Steps to Grapple with Space Debris Problem
A multibillion-dollar radar system should vastly increase the amount of orbital debris under surveillance, but actually removing any debris will be a monumental challenge
TechnologyAugust 24, 2011
Steve Jobs Resigns as Apple CEO
The SciencesAugust 23, 2011
Cold Case: Low Temperature-Tolerant Bavarian Beer Yeasts Traced to South America
The missing component of a hybrid lager yeast has been located in the wilds of Patagonia
Mind & BrainAugust 23, 2011
Egotist Rex: Are a Dictator's Defiant Statements Indicative of Self-Delusion?
For months Col. Muammar Qadhafi has resisted the popular rebellion in Libya, making a series of strong and sometimes bizarre statements along the way
EnvironmentAugust 19, 2011
A Mobile "Lab" for Urban Conversations Debuts in New York City [Video]
EnvironmentAugust 19, 2011
GOP Candidate Jon Huntsman Makes Waves with Tweet on Evolution and Climate Change
Space & PhysicsAugust 19, 2011
Solar Blares: Listening to the Sun May Improve Space Weather Forecasts
A new method of tracking the propagation of sound waves in the sun's interior provides advance warning of sunspots
The SciencesAugust 16, 2011
70,000 Students Flock to Free Online Course in Artificial Intelligence
Space & PhysicsAugust 4, 2011
Mars Bars: Seasonal Markings on Martian Slopes Could Indicate Flowing Water
Newfound features on the Red Planet hint that liquid water may still exist there
Space & PhysicsAugust 3, 2011
E Pluribus Lunum: Did Earth Once Have Two Moons?
A primordial collision between two natural satellites of Earth could explain the stark differences between the moon's near and far hemispheres today
August 1, 2011
Fast Brake: Drivers' Brain Waves Show Intent to Stop Before the Act
Sensors on the scalp and muscles could help drivers respond more quickly to emergencies, but the technology is unwieldy at present
Space & PhysicsAugust 1, 2011
Rotation Rate Could Pin Down Age of Stars
A new study may help scientists determine when stars were born
EvolutionJuly 28, 2011
Sound Tracking: Harmonics Enable Bat to Focus on Prey Despite Noise
By emitting multiple sonar frequencies, big brown bats are able to distinguish the insects they eat from background clutter
Space & PhysicsJuly 26, 2011
Water from a Saturnian Moon Rains Down on the Ringed Planet
TechnologyJuly 25, 2011
Bullet Train Crash and Bus Fire in China Raise Questions about Transit Safety
Space & PhysicsJuly 21, 2011
A Tribute to All 135 of NASA's Space Shuttle Missions [Video]