Scientists are leaving no string untuned in their attempt to unravel the secrets of the Stradivarius. They’ve analyzed varnishes, types and densities of wood, the shapes and thicknesses of the plates that make up these highly prized, centuries-old violins. Now a research team from Leiden University in the Netherlands and Borman Violins in Fayetteville, […]

A new breed of storm chasers is ready for launch. US researchers have begun sending unmanned aerial drones into the hearts of hurricanes. While smaller and less sophisticated than the pilotless craft that fly over war zones, these remote-controlled planes can rough it in the 70-mile-per-hour winds of a Caribbean cyclone and send back […]

In the quest to shift to biofuels, one approach that has gained a following involves growing perennial grasses on abandoned or degraded crop and pasture land. In principle, the grasses grown there can be turned into fuel without jacking up food prices or degrading the environment.
Researchers at the Carnegie Institution of Washington and Stanford University […]