History of Science

African climate negotiators attending the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington this week said leadership from the United States is critical to finalizing a global deal on measures to address climate change in 2015 after years of deadlock. Officials from Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana and Ethiopia said they were optimistic an agreement could be reached, even though many U.S.

Health experts are questioning the Environmental Protection Agency and Michigan state officials for their decades-long delays in cleanup of a Superfund site that is killing songbirds in yards, possibly leaving people at risk, too

Global warming has been going on for so long that most people were not even born the last time the Earth was cooler than average in 1985 in a shift that is altering perceptions of a "normal" climate, scientists said. Decades of climate change bring risks that people will accept higher temperatures, with more heatwaves, downpours and droughts, as normal and complicate government plans to do more to cut emissions of greenhouse gas emissions.

Scientific American's August supplement takes a look at the changing landscape of education in the face of emerging technology, and asks the question, how do we increase interest and engagement in STEM initiatives?

Scientists say a man-made "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico is as big as the state of Connecticut. The zone, which at about 5,000 square miles (13,000 sq km) is the second largest in the world but still smaller than in previous years, is so named because it contains no oxygen, or too little, at the Gulf floor to support bottom-dwelling fish and shrimp.

Researchers are rethinking century-old observations as they witness the unexpected and peculiar perils that are emerging from thawing Arctic permafrost

Human activity has left permanent marks on the planet

Outbreaks of science myth-busting can be a bit of a puzzlement. The science behind a popular headline-maker might be a tottering house of cards, but it can be impressively sturdy nevertheless.

The Virgin in Prayer, 1640-50, by Sassoferrato. National Gallery, UK. When I write these Pinch of Pigment posts, alternate, catchier titles come to mind.

A new video maps births and deaths of notable people, showing the rise and fall of cultural centers in the past 2,600 years

Deep down, the particles and forces of the universe are a manifestation of exquisite geometry

Thomson Reuters vows to be clearer in the future about the "impact factor," an annual ranking of more than 10,000 scientific journals