InequalitySeptember 1, 2016
1 World, 10 Billion People: Who Thrives, and Who Falls Behind?
Quality of life on an increasingly crowded planet depends on decisions made today
Stories by Mara Hvistendahl
Mara Hvistendahl is an investigative reporter at the New York Times and author of Unnatural Selection: Choosing Boys over Girls, and the Consequences of a World Full of Men (PublicAffairs, 2011). Her newest book is The Scientist and the Spy: A True Story of China, the FBI, and Industrial Espionage (Riverhead, 2020).
The SciencesNovember 2, 2015
China's New Birth Rule Can't Restore Missing Women and Fix a Population
The government ended a one-child limit, but the policy already encouraged millions of abortions of females, causing lasting damage
HealthJune 11, 2011
How Ultrasound Changed the Human Sex Ratio
A technology originally developed for maritime navigation and detection has become the dominant method for sex selection
The SciencesSeptember 1, 2009
The Vibrator
One of the first electrical appliances made its way into the home as a purported medical device
The SciencesSeptember 1, 2009
Origins: The Start of Everything
Where do rainbows come from? What about flying cars, love and LSD?
The SciencesSeptember 1, 2009
Paper Money
A substitute for coins turned into a passport for globalization
HealthJuly 9, 2008
Future of Popular Chinese Herbal Medicine Up in the Air
Demand soars, populations dwindle of caterpillar fungus used to treat everything from cancer to erectile dysfunction
EnvironmentMarch 25, 2008
China's Three Gorges Dam: An Environmental Catastrophe?
Even the Chinese government suspects the massive dam may cause significant environmental damage
Space & PhysicsFebruary 21, 2008
Is China's Great Wall Visible from Space?
Though it stretches for some 4,500 miles, the ancient Chinese fortification is not as visible from orbit as modern desert roads
EnergyDecember 13, 2007
Coal Ash Is More Radioactive Than Nuclear Waste
By burning away all the pesky carbon and other impurities, coal power plants produce heaps of radiation