Figures on Global Climate Show 2010 Tied 2005 as the Hottest Year on Record
By JUSTIN GILLIS
New government figures also show that 2010 was the wettest year since record-keeping began in 1880.
Dylan Taylor
The research team at South Pole Station.
Before departing Antarctica, a geologist reflects on a month of camping on a glacier, and makes an unexpected visit to the South Pole.
Tougher Rules Urged for Offshore Drilling
By JOHN M. BRODER
The presidential panel investigating the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico recommended warned that unless industry practices improved, another accident was inevitable.
Green Blog
Robots Patrolling Power Lines
By MATTHEW L. WALD
The Electric Power Research Institute hopes to farm out the job of inspecting serious glitches in power lines to robots.
Science Times: Jan. 11, 2011
The War of the Worlds, Round 2
By KENNETH CHANG
Ron Barrett
Now, researchers say that the rival to Pluto that was discovered six years ago is actually smaller than Pluto.
Slide Show: The Saga of Pluto
Depth of the Kindness Hormone Appears to Know Some Bounds
By NICHOLAS WADE
The love and trust that oxytocin promotes are not toward the world in general, just toward a person’s in-group.
You Might Already Know This ...
By BENEDICT CAREY
A report on ESP to be published this year has inflamed a debate on the standard technique used to analyze data in much of social science and medicine.
Cave Drops Hints to Earliest Glass of Red
By PAM BELLUCK
Scientists working in Armenia have reported finding the oldest known winemaking operation, about 6,100 years old.
RNA Game Lets Players Help Find a Biological Prize
By JOHN MARKOFF
Scientists are harnessing the wisdom of crowds with an online video game that challenges players to design new ways to fold RNA molecules.
Interactive Feature: Playing With RNA
Doubt on Anti-Aging Molecule as Drug Trial Stops
By NICHOLAS WADE
There is a divergence of views on resveratrol, the minor ingredient of red wine that some researchers see as a drug that can extend life.
Kepler Finds an Exoplanet, Rocky, Small and Very Hot
By DENNIS OVERBYE
Known as Kepler 10b, it is only 40 percent larger than the Earth and about 4.6 times as massive, making it about as dense as Mercury.
California’s Heavy Rains Counter La Niña’s Ways
By HENRY FOUNTAIN
A typical La Niña would bring dry conditions to the Southern United States. So how to explain a recent deluge in Southern California?
Health News
Down the Hatch and Straight Into Medical History
By AMANDA SCHAFFER
Dr. Chevalier Jackson, a laryngologist who worked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, preserved more than 2,000 objects that people had swallowed or inhaled.
18 and Under
Lifting a Veil of Fear to See a Few Benefits of Fever
By PERRI KLASS, M.D.
In general, in older children who do not look very distressed, fever is positive evidence of an active immune system.
Preventing Heart Risks at the Root: Childhood
By NICHOLAS BAKALAR
Two studies suggest that the road to hypertension and heart disease starts in childhood and that prevention should start there, too.
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Cancer Can Develop in Catastrophic Burst
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Global Update: China: Gaps Seen in Government’s Ability to Detect Disease Outbreaks
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Vital Signs: Diet: Childless Couples Eat Healthier, Study Finds
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Vital Signs: Smoking for Two, and Lying About It
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Vital Signs: Childhood: A Breast-Feeding Benefit, This One for Boys
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Treating an Injured Brain Is a Long, Uncertain Process
Multimedia
Learning to Fly
Scientists at the University of Montana Flight Laboratory are obsessed with bridging the gap in flying abilities between birds and human beings.
Interactive Feature: Is That a Smile? How Computers Recognize Expressions
A facial-recognition system is able to read human emotions by tracking face movements and linking the information with a database of expressions.
Interactive Feature: A Space Wardrobe
A collection of spacesuits, some worn by famous astronauts and others that never made it into space.
Video: Spacesuit Archives
Graphic: Dressed for Egress
Interactive Feature: Test Your Insight
Does your mood affect how quickly you intuit answers? Play this game to find out.
Glimpses of an Ancient Forest Amid the Shales
January 10, 2011
Rocks, Zircon Zapping and a Big Shrimp
January 7, 2011
Italy and Others Cited for Illegal Fishing
January 12, 2011
A Photo Finish for Warmest Year on Record
January 12, 2011
On Our Radar: A Climate-Change Fingerprint in Australia?
January 12, 2011
Playing With RNA
A demo of the EteRNA game in which players help create a library of synthetic RNA designs.
Science Columns
Observatory
It Looks a Lot Like Glass, but It’s Tough as Steel
By SINDYA N. BHANOO
Researchers report that they have devised a new type of metallic glass that is as strong as glass, but as tough as steel.
Observatory
Life Span of Early Man Same as Neanderthals’
By SINDYA N. BHANOO
New research suggests that longer life was not what helped the population of early modern humans increase as Neanderthals dwindled to extinction.
Observatory
Bony Wings That Went ‘Pow! Smack! Whomp!’
By SINDYA N. BHANOO
Researchers said an extinct, flightless bird that came from Jamaica and belonged to the ibis family used its wings as a powerful club.
Q & A
Chilling Out
By C. CLAIBORNE RAY
Caloric expenditure will increase as the temperature decreases, an expert says, but a better method would be to walk up and down a few flights of stairs.
Podcast: Science Times
This week: The Pluto perplex, RNA: the video game, and when a child has a temperature.
Health Columns
Really?
The Claim: Drink Plenty of Fluids to Beat a Cold
By ANAHAD O'CONNOR
Despite time-honored advice, some scientists suspect that loading up on liquid — that is, beyond the normal amount required in a day — may not do much good.
Personal Health
Have a Food Allergy? It’s Time to Recheck
By JANE E. BRODY
A new analysis of the best available evidence finds that many children and adults who think they have food allergies are mistaken.
Wordplay Blog
Numberplay: Finger Games
By PRADEEP MUTALIK
A set of puzzles about an ancient hand game called morra that provide a fine introduction to game theory.
Opinion
Dot Earth Blog
So this Reporter says to this Scientist...
By ANDREW C. REVKIN
A translation algorithm for scientists from Mars and reporters from Venus.
Letters
Science, Environment and Health Series | Special Sections
MOST POPULAR - SCIENCE
- You Might Already Know This ...
- Depth of the Kindness Hormone Appears to Know Some Bounds
- Jack Oliver, Who Proved Continental Drift, Dies at 87
- Cave Drops Hints to Earliest Glass of Red
- RNA Game Lets Players Help Find a Biological Prize
- Green: Move Over, WALL-E: Puttering Along Power Lines
- Figures on Global Climate Show 2010 Tied 2005 as the Hottest Year on Record
- Doubt on Anti-Aging Molecule as Drug Trial Stops
- The War of the Worlds, Round 2
- Journal’s Paper on ESP Expected to Prompt Outrage
- You Might Already Know This ...
- Jack Oliver, Who Proved Continental Drift, Dies at 87
- Move Over, WALL-E: Puttering Along Power Lines
- Depth of the Kindness Hormone Appears to Know Some Bounds
- On Last Field Day, a South Pole Detour
- The War of the Worlds, Round 2
- Doubt on Anti-Aging Molecule as Drug Trial Stops
- Observatory: It Looks a Lot Like Glass, but It’s Tough as Steel
- Tougher Rules Urged for Offshore Drilling
- Cave Drops Hints to Earliest Glass of Red
Respectful Insolence
"Piltdown" medicine: Andrew Wakefield's scientific fraud was worse than previously thought
January 4, 2011
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