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The continuing effects of eruptions past at two volcanoes and the best of volcano-inspired literature.

A new Midwest coal plant marketed as a source for cheap, clean energy is expected to raise utility bills and be the largest source of carbon dioxide in a quarter century, says The Chicago Tribune.

"Ocean life is being wiped out from the bottom up," reports the New Scientist. Recall from your high school food chain diagram that the smallest critters are the most important.

"As the 21st century unfolds, perhaps religions will undergo a radical shift: to become more hybrid in nature and flexible in narrative." A professor of genetics on the malleability of myths.

The transcript of the interview I did last week at NPR’s On the Media is now available. In the interview, I restate exactly what we argued first at Science and […]

My colleague Dietram Scheufele is lead author on a study in the latest issue of Nature Nanotechnology. In their survey work, Scheufele et al. find that experts are more concerned […]

Some notes from the GSA 2009 meeting, including the size of Toba, the latest on the history of South Sister, the explosive life of central Oregon scoria cones and the kimberlites of New York.

With all its inefficiencies, waste and contradictions, democracy may not be equal to our social problems. But it sure is a great model of the human psyche, as writers keep […]

What do God, Dr. Frankenstein, and Lady Gaga have in common? They are all names that geneticist-cum-media-sensation Craig Venter has been called since announcing in May that he had created […]

Orangutans spend all day exercising, slowly swinging from tree to tree, munching on low-fat plants, but they’re still kind of pudgy. It turns out that your average orang, for all […]

Back in November, when Missouri passed a constitutional amendment protecting the ability of scientists to conduct embryonic stem cell research in the state, it was heralded as one more political […]

There’s nothing new about politicians using entertainment outlets to promote their presidential aspirations. In 1960, both John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon appeared on Jack Parr’s Tonight Show. Nixon even […]

BY delicious irony, the local Member of Parliament for the impoverished Atacama region of Chile – which includes the doomed mine of San Jose – is none other Isabel Allende.  […]

In otherwise strong performances by Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Palin, I was struck by the sneering arrogance in their dismissal of community organizers and the rabid reaction of the GOP […]

Its not every day that a new geyser appears out of the blue, but that is exactly what appears to have happens in Kamchatka, as the Prikolny ("Peculiar") Geyser has appears near Uzon caldera.

Responsible for feeding the nation, farm labor should be an honored work and respected with livable wages and good working conditions. Lest we bite the hand that feeds, says the L.A. Times.

The ethical responsibility to grow and preserve and sustain land-raised systems will survive, and local, land-raised cuisines will return and thrive.

A new study at the journal Risk Analysis examines the factors shaping public perceptions of nuclear energy and provides important clues about how to effectively mobilize public support for expanded […]

Lava flows have returned to Kalapana - and although typically not dangerous to life, lava flows are very costly to property.

A Pacific counterpart to Atlantis, Mu is supposed to have been a large continent in the middle of the ocean and the home of an advanced civilisation, having sunk beneath the […]

The Senate defeated a bill that would have prevented the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating greenhouse gases as pollutants under the Clean Air Act. Large greenhouse gas emitters, like […]

In June, I will be heading to Copenhagen to speak at and participate in the annual meeting of the Danish Science Journalists Association. The meeting titled “Framing Research” tackles many […]

Before there was EO Wilson’s breakthrough success with The Creation, there was Carl Sagan, who was a master at emphasizing the shared values between science and religion.Consider this example: According […]

I’m obviously a bit late in commenting on the scientist-journalist debate that went on through last week, so I’m not going to weigh in at this point. (Round up of […]

To date, nanotechnology has followed a public trajectory similar to that of plant biotechnology in the United States. Relatively low levels of attention have been paid to the still nascent […]

Science issues are lining up to be a big part of the political jockeying by the 2008 presidential hopefuls. Plans are in the works to make Framing Science the-go-to-site for […]

Cities' ability to store heat means they are typically warmer than their surrounding areas. Given climate change, this could mean the end of cooler nights and more frequent heat waves.

n One could call it cautionary cartography, this map of a thoroughly germanified New York – something that might have happened in an alternate universe, where the Nazis not only […]

Making America fall in love with Don Draper is dangerous, because we will want to be him, or be with him, and both of these will bring moral compromise.

nn So, there has been a lot of talk about “volcano monitoring” over the last 24 hours, now hasn’t there? nn Now, I’m not going to revisit this discussion, but […]