Everyday Science

A study in mice suggests that chemical changes that occur during dry roasting may increase the odds of an allergic reaction. Dina Fine Maron reports

 

In an information-rich age, one of my main functions as a librarian isn't helping people find material, but helping them evaluate the material they find.

Several times a week, if not every day, I look at Doppler radar maps so I know whether to take an umbrella when I leave the house. These maps, shown on TV weather reports or websites, are commonplace enough that they don’t feel like impressive technology: mere green blobs slowly shifting across the screen at [...]

The world's two largest polluters committed to taking action against global warming—but offered few specifics

As world leaders gathered at the U.N. to talk about global warming, mayors set about actually doing something about climate change

I heard a screwing noise as the hatch of our sub was sealed. A bright orange hose from topside that had been inserted into the sub to blow fresh air as we loaded had been removed, and the interior felt warm and damp and close.

Kids who could keep a beat had superior skills related to reading and language than did those whose rhythm strayed. Cynthia Graber reports

 

A chance observation about warts on a pea plant led a trio of teenagers on a three-year mission to solve the world food crisis. Their perseverance earned them top honors at the annual Google Science Fair in Mountain View, California.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—What happens in the brains of people who see Jesus in a piece of toast? What are the physics of slipping on a banana peel?

He would dab on a bit of cocaine to anesthetize his eyes first. Then, to prevent air getting in, Müller would insert the lenses with his eyes under water.

Each of us, at times, can be a procrastinator, putting off something that is hard to do or that we don't want to do. But three researchers at Pennsylvania State University think we humans may also be precrastinators—hurrying to get something done so we can cross it off our mental to-do list, even if the [...]

Tonight, Google will announce the winners of its fourth annual Google Science Fair, which Scientific American co-sponsors. Watch the awards ceremony here live.