| Prickly Problem: Engineering Mosquitoes to Spread Less Disease without Boosting Virulence Scientists around the world are currently hard at work genetically engineering new strains of mosquitoes that are poor hosts for diseases such as malaria , dengue and yellow fever, in the hopes of cutting down the spread of these germs. New research suggests, however, that although these insects might succeed in reducing the number of infections, they might also inadvertently boost the severity of remaining ones. [More] rss.sciam.com |
First light! Panels start producing power, but paperwork drags on Editor's Note: Scientific American 's George Musser will be chronicling his experiences installing solar panels in Solar at Home (formerly 60-Second Solar). Read his introduction here and see all posts here . What a beautiful Indian summer day to inaugurate our solar panels. The electrician finished wiring up the inverter on Saturday and flipped the switch, and I spent much of yesterday running to the basement and checking the inverter readout to confirm that the sun was indeed powering our house. The system isn’t hooked up to the grid yet, but at least we're offsetting some of our domestic power consumption. [More] rss.sciam.com |
Broadband, Yes. Toilet, No. An Alaskan couple have turned a yurt into a home in the wild for them and their 11-month-old son. nytimes.com |
Can the Green Economy Survive in a Policy Vacuum? SAN FRANCISCO - The green economy continues to show almost remarkable signs of vitality, business leaders say, despite the near-total collapse of global talks, stalemate in Washington, D.C., and polls showing decreased urgency to tackle climate change. [More] rss.sciam.com |
Joan and New York City Stumbling upon an equestrian statue of Joan of Arc in a sliver of a park at the end of 93rd Street. nytimes.com |