Scientific Method / Science & Exploration

Week in science: nuclear crisis edition

Our report on the nuclear crisis in Japan tops the list of big science stories …

Understanding Japan's nuclear crisis: Events at the Fukushima Daiichi site in Japan have been moving quickly, making it tough to understand what's been happening there. Ars looks at what has happened there, where we stand now, and what lessons are there to be learned.

Planetary Exploration 2013-2022: Scientists are ready, what about you?: On Monday, March 7th, National Academies made recommendations to NASA and the NSF regarding their planetary exploration priorities for 2013-2022. Ars contributor Kunio Sayanagi was a member of the team that compiled the recommendations. Kunio reviews the new recommendations and gives an insider's view of the outlook for the next decade.

The oceans of 2050: will there be any fish left?: There's a lot of pessimism about the state of the oceans and global fish stocks, but with a little forethought, we won't have to explain to our grandchildren what fish were.

Getting the rift: following Africa's slow break-up: How do two continents go their separate ways? According to a new view of rifting in Africa, it occurs in some well-defined stages.

Bacteria hijack an immune signaling system to live safely in our guts: How do our bodies establish equilibrium between our immune systems and the beneficial bacteria that inhabit our guts?

Using waste heat to fill the bath: desalination in Abu Dhabi: Clever thinking and making use of waste energy in the form of excess heat is helping solve Abu Dhabi's fresh water needs. Might we need to do the same for the US Southwest in the future?

Simple matter, complex antimatter, and added strangeness: Continuing our coverage of the antimatter research symposium at AAAS, we report on the creation of complex forms of antimatter. Antiatoms and heavy antimatter with strange quarks take top billing.

Reversing the Doppler effect: Everyone has experienced the Doppler effect: an ambulance's siren has a higher pitch as it approaches you, and a lower pitch when moving away. Now imagine that the pitch goes down as the ambulance moves towards you: that is the inverse Doppler effect.

Gulf oil spill gives a glimpse into the source of atmospheric aerosols: The Deepwater Horizon oil spill provided scientists with an opportunity to do a field study of the chemical composition and origin of atmospheric organic aerosols, which influence climate, cloud formation, air quality, and ozone.

What do April showers on Titan bring?: Showers of methane around equinox on Titan might help explain the presence of dry river beds in the equatorial region.

Expand full story

You must to comment.

Need to register for a new account?

If you don't have an account yet it's free and easy.