Traffic Deaths Increase after 4:20 P.M. on 4/20
A look at a database of fatal traffic accidents found a 12 percent increase on the informal marijuana holiday 4/20 after 4:20 P.M. compared with nearby dates.
Stories by Steve Mirsky
The Internet Needs a Tune-Up
Princeton University's Jennifer Rexford talks about optimizing the internet for the uses it got drafted into performing.
Silliness and Scams Seem to Always Hitch a Ride with Human Activity
A look at follies, foibles and fumbles
Rev Up Photosynthesis to Boost Crop Yields
Photosynthesis actually is an inefficient process, but a biological chemist is trying to crank it up.
A Brain Deprived of Memory
Michael Lemonick, opinion editor at Scientific American, talks about his most recent book, The Perpetual Now: A Story of Amnesia, Memory and Love, about Lonni Sue Johnson, who suffered a specific kind of brain damage that robbed her of much of her memory and her ability to form new memories, and what she has revealed to neuroscientists about memory and the brain.
Louise Slaughter Was Congress's Food Safety Champion
Upstate New York Congresswoman Louise Slaughter, who worked for decades on issues such as overuse of antibiotics in agriculture and food safety in general, died March 16 at the age of 88.
Pride May Come before a Fall--but Only Metaphorically
Pride and falls have a complex relationship
Blockchain beyond Bitcoin: The Energy Sector
Freelance science journalist Kevin Begos reports from the U.S. Power and Renewable Summit in Austin, Texas, on the use of blockchain technology to make more efficient energy markets and distribution.
Needed: Info on Biodiversity Change over Time
Understanding an ecosystem means following changes in the abundances and identities of the species present as the clock ticks. The BioTIME database should help.
Enrico Fermi: The Last Man Who Knew Everything
David N. Schwartz talks about his latest book, The Last Man Who Knew Everything: The Life and Times of Enrico Fermi, Father of the Nuclear Age.
Old Trees Are Ecosystem Gold
David Lindenmayer of the Australian National University College of Science in Canberra says that older trees play outsize roles in maintaining landscapes and ecosystems.
Chimps, Horses, Kangaroos and Even Bees Can Be Righties or Lefties
A surprising number of animals exhibit handedness—bees included
A Future for American Energy
At the first Science Meets Congress event, Energy Solutions for a Sustainable Future, energy and innovation experts from academia, government and the private sector talked with Scientific American Editor in Chief Mariette DiChristina about American's energy future.
Nobelist Crafts Light-Switchable Antibiotics
Drugs modified by chemistry Nobel laureate Ben Feringa can be turned on and off by light, which could help keep bacteria from developing antibiotic resistance.
Worldwide Effort Says Together Science Can
Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust, talked about worldwide scientific collaboration today at the World Economic Forum.
Intelligent Aliens May Know about Us Well before We Find Out about Them
SETI is still scanning the skies for other galactic citizens
Air Force Tracks Final Frontier
General Jay Raymond, Commander of Air Force Space Command, talks about keeping watch over space and cyber.
You Traveled Far Last Year
Getting around the sun in 2017 was a memorable trip.
The Skinny on Fat
Biochemist Sylvia Tara talks about her book The Secret Life of Fat: The Science behind the Body's Least-Understood Organ and What It Means for You.
Squirrels Can Store the Same Kinds of Nuts in Specific Groupings
Smart cookies remember their buried treasure
