Science

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The Strange Beauty of David Maisel’s Aerial Photographs

A new book shows how the photographer creates startling images of open-pit mines, evaporation ponds and other sites of environmental degradation

Who makes a good call center worker? Big Data knows.

How Big Data Will Mean the End to Job Interviews

Companies will rely more and more on analyzing mountains of data to determine who's the best fit for a job

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Cops Could Soon Use Breathalyzers to Test for Illegal Drugs

Swedish researchers are developing a system that tests for 12 different drugs on your breath, including cocaine, marijuana and amphetamines

Emperor penguins swimming

14 Fun Facts About Penguins

Which penguin swims the fastest? Do penguins have teeth? Why do penguins sneeze? How is penguin poop useful?

An investing strategy based on the frequency of certain words Google searches, it turns out, might provide sizable profits.

Google Search Terms Can Predict the Stock Market

An investing strategy based on the frequency of certain words Google searches, it turns out, might yield sizable profits

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Why Women Like Deep Voices and Men Prefer High Ones

We find different pitches attractive because of the body size they signal—and a touch of breathiness is crucial to take the edge off deep voices in men

Flamingos depend on plant-derived chemical compounds to color their feathers, legs and beaks.

For Some Species, You Really Are What You Eat

Flamingos, shrimp and many other animals use chemical compounds found in their diets to color their exteriors

Music works deep into our brains.

Eight New Things We’ve Learned About Music

It's right up there with food, sex and drugs when its comes to stirring up pleasure responses in our brains

Hikers ascend through the smog of  Los Angeles, one of six cities where researchers studied the effects of air pollution on the heart.

Heart Attacks May Be Linked to Air Pollution

Research in six U.S. cities shows a connection between prolonged exposure to fine particulate matter in the air and a faster hardening of the arteries

Brain scans show that the neurological patterns linked with pangs of empathy for humans also occur when we see a robot like WALL-E treated harshly.

Neuroscience Explores Why Humans Feel Empathy for Robots

Brain scans show that the neurological patterns linked with pangs of empathy for humans also occur when we see a robot treated harshly

A difference of nearly four decades: at top, a ski area in Aspen, Colorado last year, captured by Ron Hoffman; at bottom, the same location in 1974, shot by Dustin Wesley.

Before and After: America’s Environmental History

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Which Primate Is the Most Likely Source of the Next Pandemic?

To help anticipate the next outbreak of an emerging infectious disease, scientists scrutinize our closest relatives in the animal kingdom

By combining genes from different bacteria species, scientists created E. coli that can produce diesel fuel from fat.

Genetically Modified E. Coli Bacteria Can Now Synthesize Diesel Fuel

By combining genes from different bacteria species, scientists created E. coli that can consume fat and excrete diesel fuel

ZnO Fall Flowers. Image by Audrey Forticaux, a graduate student in the Chemistry Department

Intriguing Science Art From the University of Wisconsin

From a fish's dyed nerves to vapor strewn across the planet, images submitted to a contest at the university offer new perspectives of the natural world

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10 Things We’ve Learned About the Earth Since Last Earth Day

Pigeon-eating catfish, Antarctic trash, and more: A list of surprising, alarming and exciting discoveries about our planet from the past year

Do teachers need to train more like doctors?

Do Teachers Need Their Own “Bar Exam”?

Some say the best way to improve American education--and get teachers more respect--is make them take challenging entry exams like doctors and lawyers do

New research finds that the superstorm’s massive ocean waves produced seismic activity as far away as Seattle.

Hurricane Sandy Generated Seismic Shaking As Far Away As Seattle

The superstorm's massive ocean waves produced low-level seismic activity across the entire country

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Photos of Endangered and Vulnerable Species from Around the Globe

Photo contest contestants capture rare images of threatened animals

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Photos of the Titanic Tragedy From 101 Years Ago

The Titanic struck a North Atlantic iceberg on April 14, 1912; 705 passengers survived.

The rare coealacanth’s genome is slowly evolving—and contrary to prior speculation, it probably isn’t the common ancestor of all land animals.

DNA Sequencing Reveals that Coelacanths Weren’t the Missing Link Between Sea and Land

The rare fish's genome is slowly evolving—and contrary to prior speculation, it probably isn't the common ancestor of all land animals

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