Interactive map courtesy of Esri. Text by Josie Garthwaite.

Energy Innovation

Interactive: Mapping the Shale Gas Boom

Where in the United States is fracking unlocking natural gas from shale rock?

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Energy Innovation

Could Panda Poop Be the Secret to More Efficient Biofuel?

Unique microbes in a panda’s gut efficiently break down bamboo—mass producing these microbes could help scientists make sustainable biofuels

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This Next-Generation Bug Spray Could Make You Invisible to Mosquitoes

Researchers are analyzing chemicals naturally present on human skin that disrupt mosquitoes’ ability to smell us

The Common Core State Standards is a new initiative that outlines literacy and mathematics expectations for K-12 schools across the country.

Educating Americans for the 21st Century

What to Make of the Debate Over Common Core

Across 45 states and the District of Columbia, teachers are working off the same set of standards. What makes that so controversial?

Michael Faraday's book binding shop. (Courtesy of the Royal Institution of Great Britain.)

Energy Innovation

The Birthplace of Michael Faraday’s Big Ideas

A peek inside the laboratory of the chemist and physicist, whose experiments helped scientists see the link between electricity and magnetism

Google's energy chief Rick Needham (left) has some lofty goals for the future of energy, including self-driving cars like the Google Car, shown here on a driver-less test drive (right).

Energy Innovation

Google’s Rick Needham is Feeling Lucky About the Future of Sustainable Energy

Google’s Rick Needham is Feeling Lucky About the Future of Sustainable Energy

Energy Innovation

Introducing a Special Report on Energy Innovation

Take a look at what is being done to wean the world off of fossil fuels

QBotix robots adjust solar panels for maximum sun exposure—making solar power cheaper and more efficient.

Energy Innovation

WALL-E Goes to Work for Cheaper Solar Power

A startup in California has engineered robots to squeeze more juice from solar panels, bringing new efficiencies to a costly process

The Nest Learning Thermostat takes an active role in saving energy around the house.

Energy Innovation

A Smart, Sleek, Money-Saving Thermostat

The father of the iPod talks about his next-generation thermostat

A young Maasai stands in front of a wind turbine on the Ngong Hills in Kenya.

Energy Innovation

Can Kenya Light the Way Toward a Clean-Energy Economy?

The absence of a robust fossil fuel infrastructure makes the African nation ripe for energy innovation

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The Insane and Exciting Future of the Bionic Body

From “i-limbs” to artificial organs, advances in technology have led to an explosion of innovation in the increasingly critical field of prosthetics

Photo courtesy of David Rumsey Map Collection. Interactive by Esri. Text by Natasha Geiling.

American Cities: Before and After

This Interactive Map Compares the New York City of 1836 to Today

Manhattan had a very different topography than the concrete jungle we know today

When job opportunities come through a mobile app

Think You’re Doing a Good Job? Not If the Algorithms Say You’re Not

Relying on data collected through smartphones, Gigwalk says it knows more about its workers than any company ever has

About the only use modern humans have for their urine is in health screenings. But preindustrial workers built entire industries based on the scientific properties of pee.

From Gunpowder to Teeth Whitener: The Science Behind Historic Uses of Urine

Preindustrial workers built huge industries based on the liquid’s cleaning power and corrosiveness—and the staler the pee, the better

Technology has pushed education in good and bad directions.

10 Things We’ve Learned About Learning

For starters, laptops in classrooms are a big distraction, singing phrases can help you learn a language and multitasking isn’t good for your grades

Architects are using a puzzle-like map to get Israelis to think about how a peace plan might look.

Can Architecture Help Solve the Israeli-Palestinian Dispute?

The key to bringing these nations together in peace may be to first think of the territories as moveable pieces

The world’s reefs are fading fast.

Can Swarming Robots and Cloud Umbrellas Help Save Coral Reefs?

As reefs continue dying off, scientists have started to think more boldly about how to protect them

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Why the Next Silicon Valley Will Be in the Middle East

Venture capitalist Christopher Schroeder sees the Arab Spring giving rise to a new innovative center in Egypt and beyond

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What Can Old Menus From Hawaii Tell Us About Changing Ocean Health?

A study of vintage menus reveals the drastic decline of the state’s local fish populations between 1900 and 1950

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Science Can Help Us Live Longer, But How Long Is Too Long?

Will 100 become the new 60? And do we really want that to happen?

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