Articles from 09/2009
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The Dead Zone Dilemma
Is saving our atmosphere killing our seas? Biofuels may stifle global warming, but scientists warn that agricultural runoff causes new problems.
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A Rocket for the 21st Century
Former astronaut Franklin Chang-Diaz explains how his plasma rocket engine could revolutionize space travel and why we need nuclear power in space.
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Blueprinting Biology
Scientists develop a visual language for mapping biological systems that they hope will become “the circuit diagrams of biology.”
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Altruism vs. Selfishness
The idea that evolution explains selfishness well and altruism poorly is starting to stink. Can we please bury it now?
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The One that Got Away
A dead fish has caused a stink over false positives in fMRI studies, and while gloom and doom reign at UN climate talks, renting a movie you actually like has never been easier.
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Survival of the Kindest
In his new book, The Age of Empathy, Frans de Waal outlines an alternative to “Nature, red in tooth and claw.” Can a vision of a more empathic world change the way we behave toward each other?
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Erasing Dark Energy
Why do we need dark energy to explain the observable universe? Two mathematicians propose an alternate solution that, while beautiful, may raise even more questions than it answers.
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Rethinking Addiction
What makes someone an addict? The clinical definition of drug “dependence” is flexible, but may still mislabel individual choices as disorders.
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Richard Dawkins Seeks Converts
In his new book, Richard Dawkins sets out to convince the unconvinced that evolution is true. Will he succeed?
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Not Just for Fence-Sitters
Dawkins’ new book, The Greatest Show on Earth, demonstrates the power of storytelling in communicating evolution’s biological evidence.
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Illuminating Dark Economies
Measuring economic activity from outer space is a new frontier in the struggle to quantify humanity’s impact on the natural world.
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Monkey See, Monkey Juice
An elegant gene therapy trial “cures” colorblindness in monkeys and new film about Darwin attempts to drum up some controversy.
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Lessons for Science Envoys
Sheila Jasanoff examines President Obama’s Middle East science envoy program and offers five crucial tips on what scientists should avoid overseas.
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A Universal Truth
The universality of basic science may be the deepest link between the US and the Muslim world.
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This Image Is Not Moving
Optical illusions may seem to deceive, but they actually reveal truths about how our brains construct reality.
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Studying the Strangest Man
Graham Farmelo explains why Paul Dirac may be the 20th century’s most misunderstood physicist, and speculates that Dirac may have had undiagnosed autism.
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Business as Abnormal
The recent flirtation with geoengineering may prove a dangerous distraction from working toward a sustainable future.
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Next Steps for Geoengineering
Uncertain about what to make of geoengineering? A new report from the Royal Society carves away science fiction from science fact.
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Czar Wars
As a TV pundit takes down one of President Obama’s green “czars,” the US figures out how to pay its way back to the Moon and beyond, plus a nerd-rock band declares “Science is Real.”
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The Evolution of Evolution
Ben Fry has created a tool that allows you to watch the theory of evolution evolve. Here, he introduces us to his amazing exploration of scientific thought.
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Molecular Mimicry
New biological research has revealed mimicry at the molecular scale that could have profound implications for medicine and industry.
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Portfolio: Flight Patterns
Richard Barnes's photographs of birds’ flight patterns above a Rome suburb highlight the tension between the individual and the collective.
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Loggerheads at Bloggingheads
A falling out over creationism at a popular videoblogging site and muddled reactions to a report on geoengineering illustrate what’s at stake in the “framing wars.”
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A Manifesto for the Planet
Author and environmental icon Stewart Brand on four green heresies, developing-world ingenuity, and the new face of environmentalism.
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Acupuncture: Real or Sham?
Controls for acupuncture studies are improving. Their results are not. How are peer reviewers reacting?
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Books to Read Now
September releases on the history of language and writing, displaced citizens of virtual worlds, and the need for global resiliency.
Now on SEEDMAGAZINE.COM
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Ideas
I Tried Almost Everything Else
John Rinn, snowboarder, skateboarder, and “genomic origamist,” on why we should dumpster-dive in our genomes and the inspiration of a middle-distance runner.
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Ideas
Going, Going, Gone
The second most common element in the universe is increasingly rare on Earth—except, for now, in America.
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Ideas
Earth-like Planets Aren’t Rare
Renowned planetary scientist James Kasting on the odds of finding another Earth-like planet and the power of science fiction.
