Big Picture: The Banks That Prevent—Rather Than Cause—Global Crises
11.20.2009 Seed banks put some much-needed wild vigor back into today's specialized varieties, protecting critical crops from being wiped out.
by Maggie Koerth-Baker
The Search for Aliens Gets Harder—But More Encouraging
Saturn's surprising moons have broadened scientists' ideas about where extraterrestrial life might be found. 11.16.2009
Big Picture: The Easiest Way to Fight Global Warming?
Simply cleaning up soot could work wonders for the climate. 09.08.2009
Big Picture: 8 Ways Scientists Look at—But Don't Yet See—Dark Matter
Scientists hunt for the unseen matter that glues together the cosmos. But some wonder whether it even exists. 06.22.2009
Big Picture: Life After Silicon—How Graphene Could Revolutionize Electronics
Will the next generation of computers, phones, and even energy storage be built on a form of carbon? 05.19.2009
Big Picture: The Inspiring Boom in "Super-Earths"
At last we are finding rocky planets like our own. But some are pretty weird: The smallest may have a mineral-vapor atmosphere that condenses as lava rain or rock snow. 05.07.2009
Big Picture: Where Do Old Colliders Go to Die?
After the LHC comes online, old accelerators will stand by, just in case they're necessary, get salvaged for spare parts, or just lie untouched in the ground for years. 04.04.2009
Big Picture: Sustainable Architecture Takes Cues From the Original Green: Nature
Glass that "breathes" like gills, solar cells that imitate leaves, and other biomimetic technologies 03.02.2009
