Even in stringent times, it seems like a good idea to do some science to find out what the world is made of and how it works.
In the past decade, astronomers have observed clay materials on Mars that seem to indicate large bodies of water once filled the Martian surface. But new research suggests that magma could form some of these slick deposits rapidly, and ancient Mars may not have been as wet as we thought. A region of French Polynesia…
Sometimes, finding nothing is just as good as finding something. Physicists have made the most sensitive measurements yet in the hunt for a rare event that could undermine the dominant theory of particle physics, and turned up zilch. The scientists, who are searching for a rumored particle decay process called “neutrinoless double-beta decay,” ran a…
Last week, a team found and collected microbes in a lake hidden under more than a half-mile of ice. Among other things, the discovery may shed light on what lies under the icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn. The newfound life-forms have little connection to life on the earth’s surface and many apparently survive by…
A malaria vaccine has become the first to provide 100% protection against the disease, confounding critics and far surpassing any other experimental malaria vaccine tested. It will now be tested further in clinical trials in Africa. “The results are important because they demonstrate for the first time the concept that a malaria vaccine can provide…
A conference on feeding the world must also feed itself. For the New America Foundation’s recent “Feeding the World While the Earth Cooks,” the restaurant seems like it was chosen specifically to highlight the inherent tensions. Nora describes itself on an awning as “certified organic, exciting, seasonal, elegant dining, innovative, enjoy, creative, memorable, fresh, healthy,…
Is there a sense in which a gun, once put in hand, must be fired? If so, how deeply does this expectation, this foreshadowing of action, soak into its holder? How might the surrounding culture (hunting versus “tactical”) and type of gun shape these expectations? One holds a gun by its grip. Is there a…