杏吧原创

Who should pay for global warming?: If the world agrees to cut down on emissions of carbon dioxide, how will it happen? The first of a series examining the changing climate considers whether taxes on greenhouse gases would make us change the way we live

Nicotine on the brain: Nicotine is now known to be as addictive as cocaine or alcohol. Finding out what it does in a smoker’s brain may lead to better strategies for giving up

Have we the stomach for engineered food?: Britain’s food producers do not have to tell the government’s safety advisers if they want to genetically modify what we eat. But consumers may force them to be more open

The politics of climate, a long haul ahead: Next week, the world will attempt to lay down the ground rules for a climate treaty. This will be one more step on the tortuous path to international agreement. Effective action to halt global warming seems jus

The mathematics of symmetry

Ozone, the burden of proof: Action to protect the ozone layer began long before scientists knew that there had been any damage. What proof do we need to write international treaties protecting the environment?

Fungal warfare in the medicine chest

Signs of change: A century of attempts to teach deaf children to speak has forced a living language underground. Now it is making a comeback

Confused over personal communications: Industry’s eagerness to meet the demand for mobile telephones has led to incompatible technologies and frustrated subscribers. As they prepare to launch the next genertion of services, telecommunications companies h

Up in the air: Two new families of chemicals, the HFCs and the HCFCs, are being introduced as benign replacements for ozone-damaging CFCs. But scientists are still unsure of what the substitutes might do to the terrestrial environment

The hidden museums of the Mediterranean: Despite decades of plundering, the sea bed of the Mediterranen remains the last great repository of archaeological knowledge from the ancient world. Now underwater archaeologists are revealing its secrets

Tuatara sheds its fossil image

If rabies comes to Britain: European scientists are vaccinating foxes to try to halt the spread of rabies. But culling may be the only effective strategy for Britain, should rabies cross the Channel

Do people make deserts?: The drylands of the Earth have bloomed under humid climates in the past. Perhaps the desert dwellers have lessons for us about utilising drylands and adapting to a hostile climate