On complex issues, as is often said, it is possible for intelligent people to disagree. That was certainly the case March 15 at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, when five leaders of the space exploration intelligentsia met to discuss NASA's plans for human spaceflight. [More]

PORTLAND, Ore.--What's the sound of one molecule clapping? Researchers have demonstrated a device that can pick up single quanta of mechanical vibration similar to those that shake molecules during chemical reactions, and have shown that the device itself, which is the width of a hair, acts as if it exists in two places at once--a "quantum weirdness" feat that so far had only been observed at the scale of molecules. [More]

The April issue of Scientific American includes an exclusive excerpt from Bill McKibben's new book, Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet , plus an interview that challenges his assumptions. Expanded answers to key interview questions, and additional queries and replies, appear here. [More]

Warning that the powerful poisons can endanger dogs and cats, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency  will require new instructions and labeling for on-spot flea products. [More]

A French spacecraft designed to discover new worlds beyond our solar system has made one of its most significant finds yet--a planet that looks like a cousin to those in our own celestial backyard. COROT 9 b, named by astronomical convention for the instrument that discovered it, the COROT (for COnvection, ROtation and planetary Transits) satellite , is less massive than Jupiter and orbits a star, called COROT 9, at about the same distance Mercury orbits the sun. The new world is of fairly average size, but it is the most temperate exoplanet yet whose properties are well known in orbit around a sunlike star. [More]

In the mid-20th century the encyclopedic works of French mathematician Nicolas Bourbaki traced every mathematical concept back to the subject’s foundations in the theory of sets--the stuff of Venn diagrams--and changed the face of his field. Like many of his notions, Bourbaki existed only in the abstract: he was the pseudonym for a tight-knit group of young Parisian researchers. The Internet-age version could be D.H.J. Polymath, another collective pseudonym who could define a new style of mathematics. [More]

NEW YORK--Despite the rain and cold this past weekend, dozens of robots took the field to compete in the New York City FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) regional championship at the Javitz Center in Manhattan. The tournament tested the skills and determination of 48 teams of high school students who have spent the past several months building, programming and otherwise preparing their bots to face off in a friendly game of HotShot! [More]

Energy efficiency seems to make rational economic sense--the less energy used, the more money saved. Yet, in the real world it's actually competition with neighbors rather than cost savings that can drive people to turn down their thermostats, install insulation or simply switch off the lights when they leave a room. Such is the lesson of a host of efforts, ranging from a group called OPOWER's comparative use utility billing to switching from miles per gallon to rate vehicle efficiency to gallons per mile . [More]

NEW YORK CITY--The bustling food market on the corner of 165th Street and Grand Concourse in the Bronx almost has a casino feel, except that the chips are dull brown, and rather than cherries on a slot machine real fruit and vegetables are lined up on display. But the cheers are no less exuberant: "This is so awesome!" exclaims one happy customer clutching a handful of tokens and tomatoes. "It's just like Atlantic City." [More]

A drug targeting dopamine receptors might be able to "kick-start" an injured brain, enabling certain kinds of vegetative and minimally conscious patients to recover faster. [More]