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Features1840 articles archived since 1845
Smart Luck: How the Big Bang Was Found by Accident [Slide Show]
Two astronomers recall almost mistaking light from the big bang for pigeon droppings
Nobody Is Neutral When It Comes to Net Neutrality
The FCC has asked for comment on whether the Internet should be reclassified as a public utility to preserve net neutrality—but the motion faces political and legal hurdles
How New York City Grew Rich with Water [Excerpt]
New York City struggled to overcome water pollution as Ted Steinberg details in his new book Gotham Unbound
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Post-BP Oil Spill Gulf Restoration Projects So Far Lack Basis in Science [Slide Show]
Few funds generated by the Deepwater Horizon disaster have been allocated as yet to return the Gulf of Mexico’s marshes and ecosystems to a healthier state, leading to “random acts of restoration”...
Tornado Forecaster Moonlights as Great Plains Storm Chaser [Slide Show]
When he’s not researching tornado prediction and climate change, Allen drives 10,000 miles a year chasing storms across America’s Great Plains, home of the world’s strongest and most numerous tornadoes...
What Shakespeare Knew about Science [Excerpt]
William Shakespeare may well have been more aware of his era’s science—including the Copernican view that the planets revolve around the sun—than has generally been thought...
How Social Media Exposes Us to Predators and Other Online Bottom-Feeders [Excerpt]
Digital photo data, cookies and peer-to-peer networks tell more about us than we think
When It Comes to Conservation, Tropical Grasslands Have an Identity Problem [Slide Show]
Although they cover a fifth of Earth’s landmass, tropical grassy ecosystems are routinely misidentified and mismanaged
AWOL Microbes May Explain Our Modern Plagues [Excerpt]
Antibiotics have endangered our native microbiomes and left us increasingly vulnerable to modern diseases like obesity, diabetes, asthma and autism
Continental Collapse: Bearing Witness to Antarctica’s Intensifying Transition [Excerpt]
Leading Antarctic marine biologist James McClintock gives us an unprecedented first-person account of the dramatic impacts of climate change on the polar environment and its wildlife
Crazy Military Vehicles That Died as Prototypes [Slide Show]
When it comes to transporting troops, no idea has seemed too outlandish to be considered by the U.S. military
Fight over Rooftop Solar Forecasts a Bright Future for Cleaner Energy
As the cost of solar power drops, more consumers find that they hold the upper hand as utilities fight to maintain paying customers and the relevance of the grid
Fracking Hammers Clean Energy Research
Has the Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy failed in its mission to create alternative energy breakthroughs?
