History of Science

Polar bear DNA has been isolated for the first time from footprints left in the snow on an Arctic island, a breakthrough that could help scientists better protect rare and endangered wild animals, experts said on Tuesday. Scientists often spend days tracking rare animals such as snow leopards or orangutans for samples of DNA, for instance from hair or faeces, to understand their movements, monitor their populations and propose ways to protect them.

British and Finnish scientists have found a way of generating renewable propane using a bacterium widely found in the human intestine and say the finding is a step to commercial production of a fuel that could one day be an alternative to fossil fuel reserves.

The latest molecular analyses and fossil finds suggest that the story of human evolution is far more complex—and more interesting—than anyone imagined

Innovation and discovery as chronicled in past issues of Scientific American

For nearly a minute the sky went black. Then it was over. I was standing in a long alley between two four-story brick buildings on a clear sunny day.

The inside scoop on the best science art exhibitions around the country: EXHIBITS: NORTHEAST REGION LIFE: Magnified June – November 2014 Gateway Gallery Between Concourse C and the AeroTrain C-Gates station Washington Dulles International Airport Washington, D.C.

How many times have you read a science-themed article from The Onion or watched a science-themed segment on The Daily Show (TDS) or The Colbert Report (CR) and remarked at how “spot on” they are?

Genetic engineering could restore the once profuse North American bird after a century or more of extinction

The German lawyer, author, poet, politician and artist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (born August 28, 1749-1832) was also a mining engineer and quite interested in geology and paleontology.

If you don't know what to do, do something. That's one of my mottos when I teach math (and it's probably good life advice too). Last year, I taught introductory analysis (basically calculus with the juicy bits left in), one of the first proof-oriented classes students take.

Some artists find a synthesis of style and subject that causes their work to resonate deeply within us. We experience new memories and ideas while we look at their images.

You know what’s awesome? Seeing a bunch of young people at work on changing the world to make it a better place for all. Today, I hosted a Google Science Fair Hangout On Air on Sustainability in Swaziland, and I got to have that privilege.