The Nun Who Broke Into the Nuclear Sanctum
By WILLIAM J. BROAD
Sister Megan Rice, 82, one of three people arrested in a break-in at a nuclear complex, is a peace activist with a privileged background and a long list of arrests.
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Joshua Bright for The New York Times
A light from Mike Feller, the city’s chief naturalist, revealed an orb-weaver spider and its catch, a dobsonfly, on a web in Alley Pond Park in Queens this month.
Mike Feller, New York City’s chief naturalist, ventures into Alley Pond Park in Queens at night looking for creatures like slugs, spiders, moths and beetles.
Redirecting Fresh Water Raises Fears for Farmers
By NORIMITSU ONISHI
Prime farmland in the Sacramento River’s delta would be affected in the diversion of fresh water to the state’s more economically vital areas.
The Search for Energy Takes a Turn Underwater
By JESS BIDGOOD
A project to harness the tides off the coast of Maine, contemplated for 80 years, may start generating power next month.
Japan: Inspectors Study Plant That Avoided Disaster
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Onagawa plant was closest to the epicenter of last year’s earthquake but was largely undamaged because it was designed with enough safety margins, nuclear inspectors said Friday.
Observatory
For Taller Sand Castles, the Secret Is Less Water
By KATE YANDELL
Mixing only 1 part water with 99 parts sand gives a more stable mix, say physicists who see applications for their finding across several fields.
New Fossils Indicate Early Branching of Human Family Tree
By JOHN NOBLE WILFORD
Three specimens unearthed in Kenya are the most compelling evidence yet for multiple lines of evolution in our own genus, Homo, scientists said.
Going Private, Space Industry Eyes State’s Open Spaces
By SHEFALI LUTHRA
The growing private space industry has its eyes on Texas land, which could lead to major economic growth and possibly unwanted environmental impact.
Videos Shed Light on Chaos at Fukushima as a Nuclear Crisis Unfolded
By HIROKO TABUCHI
The released videos offer the first minute-by-minute account of the last-ditch effort to avert what would become the worst nuclear calamity since Chernobyl.
4 Decades on, U.S. Starts Cleanup of Agent Orange in Vietnam
By THOMAS FULLER
A four-year, $43 million program is being welcomed in Vietnam, but many people say the effort is too little and too late.
What Cornfields Show, Data Now Confirm: July Set Mark as U.S.’s Hottest Month
By JOANNA M. FOSTER
The average temperature in the lower 48 states last month was 77.6 degrees, breaking a record set in July 1936.
Unearthing Remains in Potter's Field to Give Names Back to the Nameless
By JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN
The New York medical examiner’s office is undertaking an ambitious effort to identify bodies.
Sir Bernard Lovell Dies at 98; a Radio Telescope Bears His Name
By DON R. HECKER
A pioneer in radar and radio telescopes, Mr. Lovell was especially renowned for creating the Jodrell Bank radio telescope, near Manchester, England.
After Safe Landing, Rover Sends Images From Mars
By KENNETH CHANG
The rover called Curiosity ushers in a new era of exploration that could turn up evidence that the Red Planet once had the ingredients for life.
Science Times: Aug. 7, 2012
Lou Beach
Asked to Get Slim, Cheese Resists
By HENRY FOUNTAIN
Under pressure to reduce sodium and saturated fats in American diets, the cheese industry has tried, with little success, to make products with less salt or fat that consumers will like.
Rubik’s Cube Twists Back Into Limelight
By DOUGLAS QUENQUA
In a world increasingly run by engineers and algorithms, the familiar Rubik’s Cube has found a new relevance, engaging a new generation of puzzlers, many born decades after its initial heyday.
Video: Rubik Nation
Slide Show: Rubik Resurgence
Ancient Energy Boost, Brewed From Toasted Leaves and Bark
By JOHN NOBLE WILFORD
Archaeologists have figured out the composition of a beverage called black drink, consumed a millennium ago by people in what is now Illinois.
Out There
After Particle Search, Some Wallets May Lose Mass
By DENNIS OVERBYE
After reports that a particle resembling the long-sought Higgs boson was discovered, physicists are looking to see if it’s time to pay up on bets about the boson’s existence.
Side Effects
Don’t Swat That Bug! It May Be Working on Next Year’s Vintage
By JAMES GORMAN
The yeast-storing utility of otherwise pesky wasps and hornets holds a larger lesson about creatures that we perceive as objectionable.
Essay
On Its Centenary, Celebrating a Ride That Advanced Physics
By BILL BREISKY
On the 100th anniversary of the discovery of cosmic radiation by the physicist Victor F. Hess, he is remembered by his grandson.
Health News
The Consumer
X-Ray Scans at Airports Leave Lingering Worries
By RONI CARYN RABIN
So-called backscatter X-ray scanners are in use at 36 airports in the United States, and questions persist about their safety.
Chilling Effect
Profits on Carbon Credits Drive Output of a Harmful Gas
By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL and ANDREW W. LEHREN
Manufacturers have ramped up production of a common air-conditioning coolant, counting on a windfall for destroying a byproduct under a United Nations program.
Scientist at Work Blog
Journey to Antarctica
By ALEXANDER KUMAR
A doctor-scientist describes his eventful journey to Antarctica aboard the French vessel L'Astrolabe.
From the Magazine
The Secret to Solar Power
By JEFF HIMMELMAN
The future of solar belongs to whoever can convince consumers that it’s not just for tree-huggers and rich people.
The Physics of Tidal Energy
August 10, 2012
A Melt in the Northwest Passage
August 10, 2012
For Hong Kong Beaches, a Scourge of Plastic Pellets
August 10, 2012
Podcast: Science Times
The science of cheese; the buzz about yeast; and a painful subject for older women.
Science Times Podcast Science Columns
Q & A
The Angry Skies
By C. CLAIBORNE RAY
The coexistence of lightning and rain might seem counterintuitive, but the electrical activity that manifests itself as lightning is generated by the airborne water itself.
Observatory
Iron Age Creativity in a King’s Image
By SINDYA N. BHANOO
A partial statue unearthed in southeastern Turkey depicts Suppiluliuma, who ruled in the ninth century B.C.
Observatory
Mud Posed No Obstacle to a Coral Reef’s Growth
By SINDYA N. BHANOO
Part of the vast Great Barrier Reef in Australia has flourished in a sediment-filled environment, which was thought to be detrimental.
Observatory
How to Tell an Elephant From a Cat? Check the Larynx
By SINDYA N. BHANOO and KATE YANDELL
The thundering rumbles that elephants use to communicate are produced by a mechanism more akin to the way people talk or sing than to the way cats purr, say scientists who analyzed an elephant larynx.
Health Columns
Personal Health
Persistence Is Key to Treating Sexual Pain
By JANE E. BRODY
Only about one-quarter of women with vaginal pain ever report the problem to a medical professional. And those who do speak up are often told - incorrectly - that nothing can be done.
Really?
The Claim: The Brain Gets Rewired if One of the Senses is Lost
By ANAHAD O'CONNOR
Scientists have shown that when one sense is lost, the corresponding brain region can be recruited for other tasks.
Opinion
Dot Earth Blog
A Closer Look at Gibson Guitar's Legal Troubles
By ANDREW C. REVKIN
A lawyer who doubles as a guitar player and aficionado weighs in on Gibson's troubles over wood shipments.
Wordplay Blog
Numberplay: Spaghetti Loops
By GARY ANTONICK
Start with 100 strands of pasta. Tie their ends together. How many loops do you have, on average, when you're done?
Letters
Editors' Picks
Welcome to Our Yard
What’s the most surprising species close to home? Readers' photos of wild organisms, large and small.
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A series of articles and videos about leaders in science like Linda Fried, Elizabeth Spelke, Richard Dawkins, Nora Volkow, Eric Lander, Michael Gazzaniga and Steven Pinker.
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