Report Blasts Management Style of Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman
By JOHN M. BRODER and MATTHEW L. WALD
A report says Gregory B. Jaczko ran roughshod over fellow commission members while carrying out the president’s directives to phase out planning for the Yucca Mountain site.
I.B.M. Researchers Create High-Speed Graphene Circuits
By JOHN MARKOFF
The advance, reported in the journal Science, may have applications that include future smartphone and telephone displays.
John H. Sinfelt, Who Helped Introduce Unleaded Gas, Dies at 80
By LOUISE STORY
Dr. Sinfelt devised a way to replace the lead and maintain octane levels when oil companies were pressured to remove lead from gasoline by the E.P.A.
The Periodic Table Expands Once Again
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Elements 114 and 116 were made by scientists smashing atoms of other elements together.
U.S. Is Falling Behind in the Business of ‘Green’
By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL
Strong incentives in European and Asian countries have given them the lead in clean energy technologies.
Calling for ‘Achievable’ Target, Christie Plans Cut in State’s Renewable Energy Goals
By MIREYA NAVARRO
The plan sets the amount of electricity to be obtained from renewable sources at 22.5 percent by 2021, down from 30 percent.
Science Times: June 7, 2011
Anders Garm and Jan Bielecki
The Caribbean box jellyfish, Tripedalia cystophora, has two complex eyes with a lens, cornea and retina, as well as one or more simple eyes that can distinguish light and dark.
So Much More Than Plasma and Poison
By NATALIE ANGIER
Jellyfish have long been dismissed as so much mindless protoplasm with a mouth. Now, in a series of new studies, researchers have found that there is far more complexity and nuance to a jellyfish than meets the eye.
Slide Show: The Complexity of Jellyfish
After 90 Years, a Dictionary of an Ancient World
By JOHN NOBLE WILFORD
Scholars at the University of Chicago have completed a project that includes 28,000 words from ancient Mesopotamia, covering a period from 2500 B.C. to A.D. 100.
FINDINGS
Could Liquid Nitrogen Help Build Tasty Burgers?
By JOHN TIERNEY
To produce the best burger, one needs advanced scientific cooking techniques, a former Microsoft executive says.
Women Atop Their Fields Dissect the Scientific Life
By GINA KOLATA
Four researchers taking part in the World Science Festival talked with The Times about their lives as scientists, the joys and struggles of research, and the specific challenges women in science face.
Women in Science: Gina Kolata Interviews Elena Aprile, Joy Hirsch, Mary-Claire King and Tal Rabin
Health News
Government Says 2 Common Materials Pose Risk of Cancer
By GARDINER HARRIS
Government scientists listed formaldehyde as a carcinogen and said styrene may cause cancer, but the main threat is to workers in manufacturing.
The Poster Plant of Health Food Can Pack Disease Risks
By WILLIAM NEUMAN
As a horrified Europe learned over the past month, sprouts are a high-risk food for carrying harmful bacteria like salmonella or the toxic forms of E. coli, according to experts.
NEWS ANALYSIS
Elusive Explanations for an E. Coli Outbreak
By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL
The German health authorities are struggling to identify the contaminated food behind the deadly E. coli outbreak.
Brain Calisthenics for Abstract Ideas
By BENEDICT CAREY
Traditional classroom learning is generally rules first, application later. However, researchers are finding that repeated exposure to patterns seems to deepen understanding.
WELL
Piercing the Fog Around Cellphones and Cancer
By TARA PARKER-POPE
So what do we really know about cellphones and health? Here are some answers to common questions about the issue.
A Doctor Who Must Navigate a Contentious Divide
By TARA PARKER-POPE
An international agency’s finding that cellphones are “possibly carcinogenic,” has put Dr. Jonathan Samet in the middle of a scientific debate.
More Multimedia
Discovering Science on Governors Island
Children identified plant species, built robots and gazed at the sun as part of a World Science Festival event on Governors Island.
INTERACTIVE FEATURE: What Makes Music Expressive?
What makes music expressive? Quiz yourself based on new research.
Readers’ Photos: A Family’s Best Friend?
Photos and stories of pets that were viewed differently by family members.
Rock-Paper-Scissors: You vs. the Computer
Test your strategy against the computer in this rock-paper-scissors game illustrating basic artificial intelligence.
SCIENTIST AT WORK BLOG
The Hidden World of Heart Urchins
By RICH MOOI
Many people, divers included, are unaware of an entirely different world of echinoids that live buried in the sand.
Before the Mosquitoes Come
June 8, 2011
Leaving a Warming Arctic
June 7, 2011
Spring Is Early in the Arctic
June 7, 2011
GREEN BLOG
Answering Questions About Food Supply
By JUSTIN GILLIS
Responding to an article on the world's future food security, readers pose questions about the potential for future grain shortages, price spikes, the use of water, chemicals, and energy to produce meat and dairy products, and overpopulation. Justin Gillis replies.
Cost vs. Time. vs. Conscience: A Travel Calculator
June 10, 2011
What’s to Be Done About Food Supply?
June 10, 2011
Biarritz? I'll Take Berry Picking
June 10, 2011
Science Columns
Q & A
Flies in the Dark
By C. CLAIBORNE RAY
Most species of flies, with mosquitoes one notable exception, are indeed just daytime fliers.
OBSERVATORY
Protein-Rich Diet Helps Gorillas Keep Lean
By SINDYA N. BHANOO
Protein makes up about 17 percent of the total energy intake for mountain gorillas in Uganda. That’s close to the 15 percent protein intake the American Heart Association recommends for people.
OBSERVATORY
Waves of Warmth In a Penguin Huddle
By SINDYA N. BHANOO
A coordinated movement allows every emperor penguin a chance to move from the colder outer region of the huddle into the warmer inner region.
OBSERVATORY
Gold Mine Treasure: A New Worm
By SINDYA N. BHANOO
A tiny nematode from a shaft of the Beatrix mine in South Africa is the first known multicellular organism to dwell at such depths.
Podcast: Science Times
This week: The science of hamburgers, women scientists and the brain of a jellyfish.
Opinion
DOT EARTH BLOG
Paul Watson Recalls Civil War's Whale Wars
By ANDREW C. REVKIN
A modern-day whale warrior looks back at one of his role models - from 1865.
WORDPLAY BLOG
Numberplay: The Museum and the Casino
By PRADEEP MUTALIK
A puzzle asking for the best strategy in a hypothetical casino game, provided by Glen Whitney, a founder of the Museum of Mathematics, which plans to open in New York City in 2012.
