Damaged Bears Find Solace in Rehab
Watch how Carpathian brown bears, scarred by the practice of training bears to dance for entertainment, are being given the chance to live out their lives in an environment tailored to creature comfort.
Stories by John Wendle
The Ominous Story of Syria's Climate Refugees
Farmers who have escaped the embattled nation explain how drought and government abuse have driven social violence
![Europe's Last Wild Rivers Could Soon Drown [Video]](https://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/cache/file/2B778F1A-5919-4031-973DD996FF60AA6A_agenda.jpg?w=275&h=154&fit=crop)
Europe's Last Wild Rivers Could Soon Drown [Video]
Hundreds of hydroelectric dams planned for rivers across the Balkans would provide green energy—at a big cost
Containing Chernobyl for the Next 100 Years
Thirty years after Chernobyl’s nuclear reactor No. 4 exploded, the building built around the site has reached the end of its expected life span. The New Safe Confinement is a gigantic steel arch that will fit over the old protective shell—the “sarcophagus” built by the Soviet Union soon after the explosion. The new arch will slide into place sometime in 2017, preventing the spread of radioactivity.
![Engineers Race to Entomb the Decaying Chernobyl Reactor [Video]](https://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/cache/file/C43C8E1F-721B-41A5-A551C8E7CC899A97_agenda.jpg?w=275&h=154&fit=crop)
Engineers Race to Entomb the Decaying Chernobyl Reactor [Video]
A giant arch will enclose the crumbling sarcophagus before radiation leaks get worse, even as plans advance to turn the area into a nature preserve
The Ominous Story of Syria's Climate Refugees
Farmers who have escaped the battle-torn nation explain how drought and government abuse have driven social violence