Marginalia

The Rat's Tale

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 14:00:00 EST

A historical "document" isn't always a writing sample

Why Think Up New Molecules?

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 17:00:00 EST

Adding to the world of known chemical structures is a wonderful mental experiment

All Things Small and Great

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST

It's time for a new, conservation-minded view of the microbial communities that live on and in us

Legally Sweet

Fri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 EST

Conflict over the essences of sweeteners and olive oils brings chemistry into the courtroom

The Undiscovered Country

Thu, 01 May 2008 00:00:00 EST

The statistics of death show leaps in modern life expectancy but fail to answer the question: Why do we die?

The Inimitable Caroline

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST

The sister of British astronomer William Herschel was herself a capable and pioneering celestial observer

Freed to Fly Again

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST

Through CT scans that can show sub-millimeter details, an imprisoned fossil reveals its secrets

For a Few Atoms More

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST

When the game becomes less of a game

Jefferson, Buffon and the Moose

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST

To counter the European insult that American species were weak and degenerate, Thomas Jefferson employed scathing rhetoric and a moose from Vermont

The Undiscovered Country

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST

Beatrix Potter, Conservationist

Thu, 05 Apr 2007 00:00:00 EST

The author of Peter Rabbit was a complex woman whose quest for autonomy helped save a crucial part of the English countryside

By Any Other Name

Thu, 08 Feb 2007 00:00:00 EST

By giving tumors their right names, scientists gain power over them

Blow-up

Thu, 07 Dec 2006 00:00:00 EST

Images from the nanoworld challenge viewers' thinking

Missing Links and Found Links

Thu, 12 Oct 2006 00:00:00 EST

In and out of the water, transitional forms from the fossil record illuminate the nuts and bolts of evolution

The Metaphor, Unchained

Thu, 10 Aug 2006 00:00:00 EST

Scientists improve their craft by writing about it

Six Months in Ascension

Thu, 08 Jun 2006 00:00:00 EST

Thanks in part to his intrepid wife, David Gill made the observations that metered the 19th-century solar system

American Dinosaurs: Who and What Was First

Thu, 06 Apr 2006 00:00:00 EST

Who gets credit for the first dinosaur in North America depends on one's definition of a description and a fossil

Lost in Einstein's Shadow

Tue, 07 Feb 2006 00:00:00 EST

Einstein gets the glory, but others were paving the way

Old Gas, New Gas

Thu, 08 Dec 2005 00:00:00 EST

Methane—made and taken apart by microbes, in the Earth, by people

Being Stalked by Intelligent Design

Thu, 06 Oct 2005 00:00:00 EST

Scientists must stop ignoring Intelligent Design—religious prejudice disguised as intellectual freedom