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Science

April 4, 2013: Taylor Swift, by Klari Reis

Every Day a Different Dish: Klari Reis’ Petri Paintings

This year, a San Francisco-based artist will unveil 365 new paintings, reminiscent of growing bacteria, on her blog, The Daily Dish

Imagine them without the blades

Do Wind Turbines Need a Rethink?

They’re still a threat to bats and birds and now they even have their own “syndrome”. So, are there better ways to capture the wind?

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Video: Researchers Produce Human Tissue-Like Material Using 3D Printing

Using droplets coated in oil as “ink,” a 3D printer can construct a network of synthetic cells that mimics brain and fat tissue

A learning algorithm, coupled with MRI readings, was able to predict the images seen by dreamers with a 60 percent accuracy.

Scientists Figure Out What You See While You’re Dreaming

A learning algorithm, coupled with brain scans, was able to predict the images seen by dreamers with a 60 percent accuracy

Caught in the act by a motion-sensing infrared camera, Yachak, nicknamed by local researchers, feeds on a cow carcass--just one of the 250-plus livestock head the old male has killed in about three years.

What Should Be Done With Yachak, the Cattle-Killing Bear of the Andes

Conservationists and ranchers in Ecuador struggle to make peace while an elusive spectacled bear feasts on valuable livestock

A trident lined with shark teeth, used in the study.

19th Century Shark Tooth Weapons Reveal A Reef’s Missing Shark Species

Lashed to swords and spears from the Pacific’s Gilbert Islands are teeth from two shark species that were never known to have swam in the area

Earthworms may play a crucial role in helping plants defend themselves from being devoured by slugs.

Earthworms: A Nightmare for America’s Orchids?

Though assumed to be great for soil, earthworms actually may be killing off orchids by ingesting their seeds

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What Makes Rain Smell So Good?

A mixture of plant oils, bacterial spores and ozone is responsible for the powerful scent of fresh rain

Jupiter’s innermost large moon, Io, is extremely volcanic. “If you look closely on the upper left and upper right horizon, you can see eruptions in the process of happening,” says Benson. “We know that at least 400 volcanos are continuously blasting magma into space from Io.” Mosaic composite photograph. Galileo, July 3, 1999.

Michael Benson’s Awe-Inspiring Views of the Solar System

A photographer painstakingly pieces together raw data collected by spacecraft to produce color-perfect images of the Sun, planets and their many moons

New research says olive oil is one healthy fat.

10 New Things We Know About Food and Diets

Scientists keep learning new things about food, from the diet power of olive oil’s aroma to how chewing gum can keep you away from healthy foods

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Why Geckos Don’t Slip Off Wet Jungle Leaves or Hotel Ceilings

A surface’s ability to attract and repel water heavily influences the degree to which a gecko can cling overhead, new research shows

Mikael Knip, a Finnish physician, speculates that developed nations are too clean for their own good.

The Unintended (and Deadly) Consequences of Living in the Industrialized World

Scientists believe dirt could explain why some of the wealthiest countries suffer from afflictions rarely seen in less-developed nations

Absolute zero, the temperature at which all atomic and molecular motion stops, is much colder than anything ever experienced by people here on earth.

Scientists Are Trying to Create a Temperature Below Absolute Zero

If you can’t break the laws of physics, work around them

Countries will begin vying for new shipping routes and untapped natural resources as the North Pole continues to melt.

When an Iceberg Melts, Who Owns the Riches Beneath the Ocean?

The promise of oil has heated up a global argument over the Arctic’s true borders

Outer space does have borders, but scientists are not yet sure exactly where they are.

Ask Smithsonian 2017

How Far Can Voyager I Go?

The spacecraft will run out of power around 2025, but where will it travel to first?

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The Greening of the Arctic is Underway

As the climate changes, trees and shrubs are poised to take over tundra and alter the Arctic’s ecosystems

The gooey confections can be used to measure the speed of light and demonstrate relationships between the volume of a gas and its pressure and temperature.

Marshmallows: The Perfect Media for Demonstrating Principles of Physics

The gooey confections turn out to be a must-have for at-home science experiments

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What Major World Cities Look Like at Night, Minus the Light Pollution

Photographer Thierry Cohen tries to reconnect city dwellers with nature through his mind-blowing composite images—now at New York City’s Danziger Gallery

Beneath the seafloor, there is an ecosystem of microbes living in the oceanic crust, independent of sunlight. Here, the seafloor of McMurdo Sound in Antarctica.

Microbes Buried Deep in Ocean Crust May Form World’s Largest Ecosystem

Far below the ocean floor, scientists have discovered a microbial community away from undersea vents, beyond the reach of the sun

Will going to class become quaint?

Free Online Courses Mean College Will Never Be the Same

They’re the biggest innovation in higher education in years, but are they a threat to small universities and community colleges?

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