Articles from 04/2010
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On the Horizon
As a disastrous oil spill spreads across the Gulf of Mexico, it also rekindles hope for renewed political action on climate change and energy.
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The Scent of Design
Commissioned by HEADSPACE, five designers—dubbed “accidental perfumers”—joined bona fide scent experts to explore the intersection of creativity and smell.
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To Cheat or Not To Cheat?
Across the animal kingdom, the decision of whether or not to be faithful to a mate often comes down to Darwinian considerations.
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Our Planet, Ourselves
Two radically different environmental messages are taking shape in the world today…Does it matter which one we choose?
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Vintage Music and Biotech Seeds
In this week’s Findings Log, we take a look at new research on genetically engineered crops, the benefits of brain training, and turning sound into sheet music.
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Ashes to Ashes
A deeper understanding of the modern world's fragile complexity is glimpsed in the aftermath of a disruptive volcanic eruption.
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Drosophila, We Hardly Knew Ye
A proposal to change the formal name of Drosophila melanogaster, the common fruit fly, has significant implications for research in the life sciences.
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We Are Not Alone
In his new book, astrobiologist Dirk Schulze-Makuch says that extraterrestrial life has already been found.
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Biotech Is Not a Product
Anastasia Bodnar, geneticist, blogger, and maize-fortifier, on misconceptions surrounding biotechnology and drawing inspiration from dog-eared utopian classics.
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The Rocket Experience
The Obama administration unveils its controversial new plan for the future of NASA’s human spaceflight program.
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Butterfly Nets for Ghosts
Researchers bury thousands of devices miles deep into the ice at the bottom of the Earth—all in an attempt to catch the universe’s most elusive particle.
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In Search of the Tiniest Quantity
The director of the IceCube Neutrino Observatory talks about his experience of turning the ice cap at the South Pole into the world's largest dark matter detector.
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The Cost of Scientific Misconduct
Scientists are facing increasing temptations to publish questionable results. Ethicists are exploring the roots of misconduct, and researchers wonder what can be done about the problem.
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Why We Haven’t Met Any Aliens
Last week marked the 50th anniversary of the first radio-based search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). In that half-century, SETI found no signs of aliens. In 2006, the evolutionary psychologist Geoffrey Miller gave Seed his theory for why we haven’t heard anything.
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Slippery Cells and Gestures
In this week’s Findings Log, we take a look at new research on desiccated plants, a cloud-sparse young Earth, and the silent parts of conversation.
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Truth and Inconsequence
A leaked video of wartime atrocities sparks a media firestorm and raises questions about the accuracy and validity of new media.
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Magnifying the Quantum World
New experiments eliciting quantum behavior in objects large enough to be visible to the naked eye reveal the reality of the quantum world.
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Risk and Opportunity
Andrew Maynard, expert in nanotechnology policy and a former research scientist, on cultivating ingenuity—and humility—in an increasingly complex world.
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Watered by the Sun
Linking the efficiency of drip-irrigation to the reliability of solar panels, a new technology—and a creative science-development partnership—is helping women to grow more food in rural Benin.
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Leading Lights
Aligning economic value with currently unpriced things—in nature and society—could be the ticket to global sustainability.
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Books to Read Now
April releases follow geoengineers on their climate-cooling mission; imagine life on a forsaken planet; and challenge the quest for elegance and symmetry in the cosmos.
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.
