A Formula for Economic Calamity
Despite the lessons of the 2008 collapse, Wall Street is betting our future on flimsy science
Features
The Wipeout Gene
A new breed of genetically modified mosquitoes carries a gene that cripples its own offspring. They could crush native mosquito populations and block the spread of disease. And they are already in the air—though that's been a secret...
Experimental Philosophy: Thoughts Become the New Lab Rats
Some philosophers today are doing more than thinking deeply. They are also conducting scientific experiments relating to the nature of free will and of good and evil
Dangerous Volcano Spurs Rival Nations to Cooperate
The volcano beneath this calm-looking lake has grown restive, inspiring a rare collaboration between Chinese and Korean scientists
Digging Mars: Mars Science Lab Set to Blast Off
The Mars Phoenix mission revived hopes that the Red Planet may be habitable, preparing the way for a new rover to be launched this month
Can We Feed the World and Sustain the Planet?
A five-step global plan could double food production by 2050 while greatly reducing environmental damage
The First Americans: Mounting Evidence Prompts Researchers to Reconsider the Peopling of the New World
Humans colonized the New World earlier than previously thought—a revelation that is forcing scientists to rethink long-standing ideas about these trailblazers
The Truth about Fracking
Fracturing a deep shale layer one time to release natural gas might pose little risk to drinking-water supplies, but doing so repeatedly could be problematic
He's No Gregory House--Which Is a Good Thing
As a disease detective at the NIH, William A. Gahl unravels the cause of illnesses that have stumped other doctors
The Smallest "Astronauts" Set for Launch November 8
Did space rocks seed Earth with life? To test that idea, a Russian probe is about to see whether microbes can survive a round-trip to Mars
Departments
Elephant Illustrates Important Point
Safety First, Fracking Second
150 Years Ago: Ghost Photo
- From the Editor
Paths Taken
- Letters
Readers Respond to "The Bad Boy of Physics" and Other Articles
- Advances
What Is It?
3-D, Hold the Glasses
Meet Your Newest Ancestor
Can Science Halt Hurricanes?
Zombie Insects: A Q&A about a Sinister Virus
Can Memories Be Counted?
On the Trail of Space Trash
Low Taxes, High Rhetoric: What Consumers Really Do with Their Tax Cuts
Of Flash Mobs and Four Loko
You Say Embryo, I Say Parthenote
How Bar-Headed Geese Scale the Himalayas
Facebook-Like Portal Helps Teens with Crohn's Collaborate on Medical Research
Bigger Plates, More Food—Or Is It the Other Way Around?
Suspect Science
- Forum
How Can Malware Be Stopped?
- The Science of Health
Cholesterol Conundrum
- TechnoFiles
The Joke's on Your Computer: The Latest Humor Coded into Software
- Recommended
Recommended: The Lost Photographs of Captain Scott
- Skeptic
The Real Science behind Scientology
- Graphic Science
Computers versus Brains
