Scitech
Wikileaks web site gives whistleblowers a voice
Unjust organizations around the world face a new threat: anonymity. A new web site called Wikileaks makes whistleblowers untraceable, so that they can leak ...
Electric cars to die by dehydration?
The road to cheap electric cars could be bumpy in places
They’re quiet, stylish, and don’t belch noxious smoke. They’re retro-futuristic. They’re even fast. Electric cars are set to finally come into their own. Instead ...
Origami transformed
Computational origami expands the scope of paper folding
Origami is the metamorphosis of paper through folding. According to Japanese tradition, one must begin with a single sheet of square paper, and without cutting or ...
Our mind-blowing minds
And why we might never understand them
We exist in a sea of complex vibrations. Fortunately, over 600 million years of natural selection has helped wire up our 100 billion neurons to extract meaning from ...
Under the Scope: Alternative medicine captures the North American imagination
Scientists question the validity of medicine lacking strong evidence
Imagine yourself in a doctor’s office. You’ve come in with a complaint of persistent migraines, and you’re awaiting the doctor’s diagnosis. He examines you thoroughly, ...
Wheat-killing fungus set to sweep the fertile crescent and beyond
Rust fungus threatens to push food prices even higher
A deadly fungus is spreading in the Middle East. Although the fungus is not lethal to man, from a human perspective it attacks the next worst thing: wheat. The ...
On February 26 the Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) went online. It was an overwhelming first day, with 18.5 million hits, 13.3 million page views and 940 GB of data ...
Pedal to the metal for human evolution
Mass migrations, the population explosion, and city living fuel rapid rate of genetic change
We can’t see it in our short lifetimes, but human evolution is going faster than ever before. Today, the rate of our evolution is over 100 times faster than it was in ...
Aerosols may solve the climate crisis
Volcanoes inspire scientists in warming battle
An aircraft soars overhead, releasing a strange gas high into the upper atmosphere. This gas isn’t Agent Orange, a pesticide, or any other gas ever released by a ...
Virtual evolution breeds answers
Computer-simulated evolution can lead to unexpected solutions
Evolution is no longer confined to the physical world. For billions of years, vastly different life forms have been cooperating and competing, conquering and struggling, ...
Bacteria boost human health
Probacteria fight AIDS and gas
Your gut is loaded with approximately 100 trillion bacteria, outnumbering your own cells by around a factor of ten. Linked end-to-end, the micro-organisms we carry ...
Prime Minister sacks his science advisor
Objective scientist reporting to P.M. is replaced with a mixed-interest council reporting to the minister of industry
On January 23, the Harper government sacked the Canadian Science Advisor, turning its back on the only objective voice on science with direct access to the Prime ...