As discussions begin today at the 10th MIT Energy Conference, the energy sector ponders how industry, government, and the scientific community can combine forces to enable the rapid evolution of the energy system...
I’ve been mentioning R&D in talks and articles a lot lately. Most audiences outside the beltway don’t immediately know I mean Research and Development – until I explain it’s the part of our federal budget accounting for a good deal of “science stuff.” R&D supports basic research and leads to new innovation while helping boost [...]..
"Every 4 1/2 minutes, a baby is born with a birth defect." That translates to 1 of just 33 babies being born with a defect in the U.S. Of these, about 1,500 babies, or 4 out of every 10,000 babies are born missing a hand or arm ("upper limb reduction")...
The principles underlying the U.S. approach to government-funded research and development remain solid—but the world has changed
The extraordinary abilities of savants have inspired a brain-stimulation technique for enabling creative insight
Most of humanity now lives in a metropolis. That simple fact helps to fuel our continued success as a species
New science reveals why cities become more creative and efficient as they grow
In a discussion with Scientific American editor in chief Mariette DiChristina, three noted experts on creativity, each with a very different perspective and background, reveal powerful ways to unleash your creative self...
Scientists have mapped the innovative mind so that we can remake our own in its image
Geneticist and transparency advocate Richard Jefferson explains how technology could transform the process of problem solving
Here is a selection of book reviews from recent issues of Nature on scientific daring, entrepreneurial brio and finely tuned judgment of social need.
By Wang Tao Struggling sales in the electric vehicle (EV) market have resulted in serious questions being raised about their viability. Despite Chinese government incentives, only a few Chinese EV pilot cities have met their target of putting 1,000 EVs on the road...
The initial fare at TEDMED 2012 whet my appetite for the sessions that followed. Howard-Yana Shapiro, a plant scientist wizard, focused on how to improve nutrition in crops, rather than just the volume of the yield, and the coming crisis in feeding the world's population...
Innovation. Story telling. Discovery. Connections. Beauty. Heartbreak. TEDMED 2012 had it all. What seemed initially like disparate sessions later proved to be a carefully planned series that wove together important themes for making a healthier future...
