Earthquake in Japan
Danger Posed by Radioactivity in Japan Hard to Assess
By WILLIAM J. BROAD
Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, one of two that have experienced multiple failures.
The amounts of the releases are unknown, as are factors that determine dispersal.
Nuclear Emergency Is Worst in Decades
By ANAHAD O’CONNOR
The full extent of the damage at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in Japan is yet to be determined.
WEEK IN REVIEW
The Destructive Power of Water
By KENNETH CHANG
A tsunami can speed along at 30 or 40 miles an hour and hit you like a runaway car. Actually, like a fleet of them.
Green Development? Not in My (Liberal) Backyard
By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL
Bike lanes? Wind turbines? Mass transit? All great developments for progressives — until they have to live with them.
E.P.A. Rejects City Timeline on PCBs
By MIREYA NAVARRO
New York’s 10-year plan to replace school-building light fixtures that are leaking toxic chemicals should be hastened, the Environmental Protection Agency said.
Give Up Familiar Light Bulb? Not Without Fight, Some Say
By EDWARD WYATT
A law on light bulb efficiency due to take effect next year has brought a frenzy of activity to get the law repealed or, at least, to stockpile the bulbs before they disappear from store shelves.
Away From Japan, Tsunami’s Effect Is Diffuse
By HENRY FOUNTAIN
The first wave of a tsunami is usually the most destructive, scientists say.
Simon van der Meer, Nobel Laureate, Dies at 85
By KENNETH CHANG
Mr. van der Meer shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1984 for a technological advance that was crucial to the discovery of fundamental building blocks of the universe.
SCIENTIST AT WORK BLOG
Arriving in Panama
By BRYSON VOIRIN
Scientists travel to Panama's Isla Iguana to study whether frigate birds sleep while flying long distances.
New View of How Humans Moved Away From Apes
By NICHOLAS WADE
Anthropologists say early human groups would have been more cooperative and willing to learn from one another than the chimpanzees from which human ancestors split about five million years ago.
House Panel Votes to Strip E.P.A. of Power to Regulate Greenhouse Gases
By JOHN M. BRODER
The sharply partisan vote, by a subcommittee, chips away at a central pillar of the Obama administration’s evolving climate and energy strategy.
Related Document: Lobbyists' Letter to House SubcommitteeShowdown on Vermont Nuclear Plant’s Fate
By MATTHEW L. WALD
A decision by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission sets the stage for conflict with the state, which seeks to shut the 40-year-old plant down.
Giffords to Attend Shuttle Launch Next Month
By MARC LACEY
Gabrielle Giffords will take a break from rehabilitation to see off her astronaut husband during his shuttle launch.
Natural Gas, Scrutinized, Pushes for Growth
By KATE GALBRAITH
The natural gas industry is flourishing and pushing for growth, but the recent surge in drilling has prompted lawsuits and complaints about water contamination and use.
Heat Damages Colombia Coffee, Raising Prices
By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL
Changes linked to global warming have contributed to a shortage of the beans used in specialty coffees.
Slide Show
Video: 
Piotr Redlinski for The New York Times
A 1948 Gibson guitar once played by Eric Clapton, being held by Alicia Scalera at the auction house Bonhams in New York.
Social scientists have just published papers analyzing the “celebrity contagion” and “imitative magic” that lead collectors to bid high.
Science Times: March 8, 2011
Viktor Koen
Some economists say it’s possible that improved energy efficiency can paradoxically lead to more greenhouse emissions.
The Reinvention of Silk
By HENRY FOUNTAIN
It’s a material with many potential applications, but there’s been one problem: spiders aren’t spinning enough of it.
From ‘End of History’ Author, a Look at the Beginning and Middle
By NICHOLAS WADE
A new book by Francis Fukuyama presents a sweeping new overview of human social structures throughout history.
Digging Up Energy Savings Right in Your Backyard
By LORRAINE KREAHLING
Ground-source heat-pump geothermal systems take advantage of the earth’s constant temperature below the frost line to heat and cool buildings.
More Science News
Taking a Risk for Rare Earths
By KEITH BRADSHER
If it can prove that rare earth metals can be processed safely, Malaysia thinks it can reap rewards by breaking China’s market dominance.
E.P.A. Steps Up Scrutiny of Pollution in Pennsylvania Rivers
By IAN URBINA
Radioactivity levels are safe, state regulators say, but the Environmental Protection Agency wants more tests.
