
Some like it hot: What is needed to kickstart life?
If heat is needed to kickstart life, water may be the only crucible, argues Philip Ball.

Some like it hot: What is needed to kickstart life?
If heat is needed to kickstart life, water may be the only crucible, argues Philip Ball.

Architects Vie to Design the City of the Future--On the Moon [Slide Show]
The Moon Capital competition brought out new visions of lunar living, circa 2069


Search Unearths Plethora of Earth-Mass Planets
Analysis of 166 stars found almost a quarter--much more than expected--had small, rocky planets, which should force a change in thinking on the overall frequency of such bodies. Adam Hinterthuer reports

European astronomers unable to confirm rival team's potentially habitable planet

Planet Hunters Discover a World That Could Harbor Life
A newfound "super-Earth" just 20 light-years away appears to reside in the habitable zone of its host star

Holst's Planets Revisited: New York City Band Follows in Composer's Footsteps
A new album from the group One Ring Zero envisions a journey through the solar system and beyond

8 of the Most Extreme Places in the Solar System [Slide Show]
A new book highlights the most unique locations in the solar system, some of which are surprisingly close to home

One Big Family: Exoplanet System Hosts at Least 5, and Possibly 7, New Worlds
A planetary system 125 light-years away could represent the largest collection of known worlds outside the solar system

Slow and Steady: Astronomy Advisory Report Charts a Long Road for Exoplanet Science
The influential decadal survey champions the pursuit of potentially habitable worlds but offers few details for the near future

Influential astronomy priority list favors multipurpose telescopes

Report charts new course for US astronomy
Dark energy and exoplanets prioritized by decadal survey.

When Humans Almost Died Out; Earthy Exoplanets; And Scientific American's 165th Birthday
Podcast host Steve Mirsky talks with human evolution expert Kate Wong about the small group of humans who survived tough times beginning about 195,000 years ago and gave rise to all of us, a story told in the cover article of the August issue of Scientific American, our 165th anniversary edition. And Editor in Chief Mariette DiChristina talks about the rest of the contents of the issue, including our coverage of the search for rocky exoplanets. Plus, we test your knowledge about some recent science in the news. Web sites related to content of this podcast include http://snipurl.com/10louu