Chemistry
These Tires Are Made from Dandelions and Soy
Companies are experimenting with rubber alternatives, turning to things like dandelions and soybeans to build their wheels.
July 25, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
Ocean Acidity Rivals Climate Change As Environmental Threat
Rising ocean acidity is now considered to be just as much of a formidable threat to the health of Earth’s environment as the atmospheric climate changes
July 18, 2012 |
By Kat J. McAlpine
Are Millennials Too Strung Out on Antidepressants to Even Know Who They Are?
The Prozac Nation-raised youth of the 1990s has grown up, and today’s teens are even more heavily medicated than their predecessors two decades before. But what is the emotional price of taking antidepressants or attention-deficit hyperactivity medications for years on end – especially during a person’s most formative stages of adolescence? In an essay based [...]
July 05, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
5 Things You Didn’t Know About the Science of Fireworks
These iconic symbols of Independence Day celebrations are also a marvel of modern science and engineering
July 04, 2012 |
By Joseph Stromberg
How Spray-On Everything Could Radically Transform Manufacturing
Soon, the days of building things from bigger blocks of things—forging, sculpting, whittling, carving, cutting, etching—may well be be gone. The push toward building from the bottom, of laying down exactly what you need rather than cutting away that which you don't, is underway in force.
June 29, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
Hemingway’s Old Man Inspires Shark Oil for HIV Vaccine
Two pharma giants are teaming up to test the latest HIV vaccine, taking a hint from Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, reports Bloomberg. People on the coasts of Norway and Sweden have used shark liver oil for centuries to help heal wounds and treat respiratory and digestive illnesses, according to the American Cancer Society. In Hemingway’s book, which [...]
June 29, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Can Evolution Make the Next Generation of Computer Chips?
In a recent experiment, genetic mutation and artificial selection were harnessed to make semiconductors
June 28, 2012 |
By Joseph Stromberg
Bacteria, Plants Turn Garbage Dump into Beautiful Park
Thanks to the help of some hungry bacteria and plants, a 150-foot high garbage dump in Colombia is being transformed into a public park. The microbes and greens are neutralizing the contaminated soil, sucking up heavy metals and feasting on chemicals. Wired’s Olivia Solon describes how the project got off the ground: A team from [...]
June 27, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
117th Element “Ununseptium” Confirmed, Will Get Name Not Stolen From Avatar
The creation of Ununseptium, the unpronounceable element from the weirdest corner of the periodic table, has finally been confirmed! It’s produced by smashing calcium atoms into berkelium, another synthetic element. The chemical goes by the placeholder name Ununseptium–chemical symbol Uus. This confirmation follows the original discovery, made in 2010 by a joint US—Russian team. Andrei [...]
June 26, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
Lego Meth Lab Makes It Almost Seem OK
The genius of “Breaking Bad” is that the show lures viewers into the mental space where it seems totally OK to be rooting (most of the time) for a character that makes his living off of meth. And this genius recreation of Walt’s tricked-out meth lab makes cooking dangerous drugs seem almost like good clean [...]
June 21, 2012 |
By Sarah Laskow
What Really Sparked the Hindenburg Disaster?
Seventy-five years later, opinions still vary on what caused the airship to explode so suddenly
May 10, 2012 |
By Joseph Stromberg
Why Does Grapefruit Mess With Your Medicine?
The juicy fruit can cause negative side effects with a number of prescription and over-the-counter medicines
March 08, 2012 |
By Joseph Stromberg
Alan Turing’s 60-Year-Old Prediction About Patterns in Nature Proven True
Sixty years ago, with nothing but numbers, logic and some basic know-how, the inventor of the Turing Test explained how to make a stripe
February 21, 2012 |
By Virginia Hughes
How Old is That Silk Artifact?
A chemist from the Textile Museum is perfecting a new technique for understanding the past
February 2012 |
By Joseph Stromberg
What Is Enriched Uranium?
Naturally occurring uranium doesn't have enough of the fissile isotope U-235 to set off a nuclear reaction, but scientists found ways to increase the stuff
January 10, 2012 |
By Sarah Zielinski
A Holiday Gift List for Science Lovers
Some books, toys, art and clothing for the scientist or geek in your life
December 05, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
At What Temperature Does Water Freeze?
The answer is far more complicated than it first appears—water doesn't always turn to ice at 32 degrees Fahrenheit
November 30, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Six Secrets of Polonium
This rare and dangerous element, discovered by Marie Curie, is found in cigarettes and was used to poison an ex-KGB agent
October 03, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
What Is Rarer Than Gold?
Other than the human tendency for imitating magpies, gold really isn't all that special
August 08, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Quirkiest Space Shuttle Science
As the space shuttle program ends, a salute to some of its most surprising studies
July 08, 2011 |
By Erin Wayman
