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A little over a decade ago astronomers discovered something astonishing. They were looking at exploding stars in the distant universe, and they noticed that not only is the universe expanding from its big bang origin, but its expansion is actually speeding up. [More]

A little over a decade ago astronomers discovered something astonishing. They were looking at exploding stars in the distant universe, and they noticed that not only is the universe expanding from its big bang origin, but its expansion is actually speeding up. [More]

Editor’s Note: This post was intially published May 12 on the World Science Festival’s Web site .

My dad took a peculiar pleasure in fitting the maximum amount of stuff into the smallest possible space. Whenever we went on a family trip, he packed our suitcases like a 3-D jigsaw puzzle, ensuring there wasn’t a single wasted inch–a laudable skill as far as I was concerned, since I could take all the toys I wanted and he’d find room for them. (The bags weighed a ton, but those were the days of free baggage check.) Later, when I drove off to my first apartment, he managed to get a household’s worth of stuff into a two-door car. He always denied there’s any limit on how much stuff you can pack into a certain volume. It was just a question of ingenuity.

Editor’s Note: This post was intially published May 12 on the World Science Festival’s Web site .

My dad took a peculiar pleasure in fitting the maximum amount of stuff into the smallest possible space. Whenever we went on a family trip, he packed our suitcases like a 3-D jigsaw puzzle, ensuring there wasn’t a single wasted inch–a laudable skill as far as I was concerned, since I could take all the toys I wanted and he’d find room for them. (The bags weighed a ton, but those were the days of free baggage check.) Later, when I drove off to my first apartment, he managed to get a household’s worth of stuff into a two-door car. He always denied there’s any limit on how much stuff you can pack into a certain volume. It was just a question of ingenuity.

Editor’s note: This article appears in print with the title "Inside the Meat Lab."

It is not unusual for visionaries to be impassioned, if not fanatical­, and Willem van Eelen is no exception. At 87, van Eelen can look back on an extraordinary life. He was born in Indonesia when it was under Dutch control, the son of a doctor who ran a leper colony. As a teenager, he fought the Japanese in World War II and spent several years in prisoner-of-war camps. The Japanese guards used prisoners as slave labor and starved them. “If one of the stray dogs was stupid enough to go over the wire, the prisoners would jump on it, tear it apart and eat it raw,” van Eelen recalls. “If you looked at my stomach then, you saw my spine. I was already dead.” The experience triggered a lifelong obsession with food, nutrition and the science of survival.

Editor’s note: This article appears in print with the title "Inside the Meat Lab."

It is not unusual for visionaries to be impassioned, if not fanatical­, and Willem van Eelen is no exception. At 87, van Eelen can look back on an extraordinary life. He was born in Indonesia when it was under Dutch control, the son of a doctor who ran a leper colony. As a teenager, he fought the Japanese in World War II and spent several years in prisoner-of-war camps. The Japanese guards used prisoners as slave labor and starved them. “If one of the stray dogs was stupid enough to go over the wire, the prisoners would jump on it, tear it apart and eat it raw,” van Eelen recalls. “If you looked at my stomach then, you saw my spine. I was already dead.” The experience triggered a lifelong obsession with food, nutrition and the science of survival.

When someone divides a complex phenomenon into two basic categories, he invariably oversimplifies and distorts reality. Anyway, there are two basic styles of science journalism, celebratory and critical. Celebratory journalists help us appreciate the cool things scientists discover, whereas critical journalists challenge scientists’ claims.

When someone divides a complex phenomenon into two basic categories, he invariably oversimplifies and distorts reality. Anyway, there are two basic styles of science journalism, celebratory and critical. Celebratory journalists help us appreciate the cool things scientists discover, whereas critical journalists challenge scientists’ claims.

With the market for hybrid automobiles picking up steam , it makes sense for tomorrow’s engineers to get a feel for designing and building cars powered by a combination of internal combustion and electricity. Hybrid technology is far from an exact science, however, as student engineers found out last week at the Formula Hybrid International competition held at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H. [More]

With the market for hybrid automobiles picking up steam , it makes sense for tomorrow’s engineers to get a feel for designing and building cars powered by a combination of internal combustion and electricity. Hybrid technology is far from an exact science, however, as student engineers found out last week at the Formula Hybrid International competition held at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H. [More]

The people we associate with can have a powerful effect on our behavior –for better or for worse. This holds true for human health and body mass, too. The heavier our close friends and family, the heavier we are likely to be. [More]

The people we associate with can have a powerful effect on our behavior –for better or for worse. This holds true for human health and body mass, too. The heavier our close friends and family, the heavier we are likely to be. [More]

It can be tough to keep up with dietary trends. Like eating eggs: good for you or bad? But one thing is certain. Taking a multivitamin is a healthy choice. Isn’t it? Not necessarily. Because researchers have found that people who take dietary supplements may make less healthful choices. The work appears in the journal Psychological Science . [Wen-Bin Chiou and Chao-Chin Yang, Ironic Effects of Dietary Supplementation: Illusory Invulnerability Created by Taking Dietary Supplements Licenses Health-risk Behaviors, link to come]

It can be tough to keep up with dietary trends. Like eating eggs: good for you or bad? But one thing is certain. Taking a multivitamin is a healthy choice. Isn’t it? Not necessarily. Because researchers have found that people who take dietary supplements may make less healthful choices. The work appears in the journal Psychological Science . [Wen-Bin Chiou and Chao-Chin Yang, Ironic Effects of Dietary Supplementation: Illusory Invulnerability Created by Taking Dietary Supplements Licenses Health-risk Behaviors, link to come]

Most of us start out with the best of intentions. Then we walk right past the fruit bowl in search of the devil’s food cake. Or drink one glass of wine too many. Or, after yet another glass, kiss that co-worker at the holiday party. Unfortunately, life constantly presents us with situations that pit our well-reasoned resolutions against the promise of immediate pleasure. As screen legend Mae West once purred, “I generally avoid temptation unless I can’t resist it.” Withstanding temptation takes self-discipline–no easy trick when immediate gratification plumps our sense of well-being. But it is well worth the effort. Self-control saves us and other people from embarrassing or, worse, damaging consequences.

Most of us start out with the best of intentions. Then we walk right past the fruit bowl in search of the devil’s food cake. Or drink one glass of wine too many. Or, after yet another glass, kiss that co-worker at the holiday party. Unfortunately, life constantly presents us with situations that pit our well-reasoned resolutions against the promise of immediate pleasure. As screen legend Mae West once purred, “I generally avoid temptation unless I can’t resist it.” Withstanding temptation takes self-discipline–no easy trick when immediate gratification plumps our sense of well-being. But it is well worth the effort. Self-control saves us and other people from embarrassing or, worse, damaging consequences.

Dear EarthTalk: Is air quality in the United States improving or getting worse? Is it cleaner in some parts of the country than in others? –K. Gould, Sherman Oaks, Calif. [More]

Dear EarthTalk: Is air quality in the United States improving or getting worse? Is it cleaner in some parts of the country than in others? –K. Gould, Sherman Oaks, Calif. [More]

Fifty years ago, in the same farewell speech in which he warned about the "unwarranted influence" of the "military-industrial complex" on American politics, President Dwight Eisenhower also deplored the growing dependence of scientists on federal funding. "The prospect of domination of the nation’s scholars by federal employment, project allocations and the power of money is ever present–and is gravely to be regarded."

Fifty years ago, in the same farewell speech in which he warned about the "unwarranted influence" of the "military-industrial complex" on American politics, President Dwight Eisenhower also deplored the growing dependence of scientists on federal funding. "The prospect of domination of the nation’s scholars by federal employment, project allocations and the power of money is ever present–and is gravely to be regarded."