Brooke Borel

Head Tilt Mouse

Ever since Mario Capecchi, Martin Evans, and Oliver Smithies created the first knockout mouse in 1989, genetically engineered animals have steadily increased in popularity for all kinds of biology research: simply pick a gene, turn it off in the mouse, and see what happens.

Pressure Point: The polymer fibers in flexible concrete help it resist 500 times as much stress as conventional concrete.  Courtesy Nicole Casal Moore/University of Michigan;

Flexcrete

Researchers have known for decades that concrete fixes itself as cement particles near a small crack mix with air and water to form calcium carbonate. But some fractures are too big to heal on their own. Now engineers at the University of Michigan have mixed a new concrete formula with reinforcing glue-like fibers that hold it together under pressure, allowing only hair-width cracks that can mend after a rainy day. Available in a few years, the remixed concrete will cost more than the standard stuff, but less maintenance could make it cheaper in the long run.

Neuroscientists are already able to read some basic thoughts, like whether an individual test subject is looking at a picture of a cat or an image with a specific left or right orientation. They can even read pictures that you're simply imagining in your mind's eye. Even leaders in the field are shocked by how far we've come in our ability to peer into people's minds. Will brain scans of the future be able to tell if a person is lying or telling the truth?

Will future brain imaging allow scientists to read your mind? What does "nothing" really mean, and what is time? Does free will exist? Has intelligence evolved in parallel amongst many species, or is it unique to humans? These are just a few of the topics that will be tackled over the next four days at the second annual World Science Festival. The festival brings together an impressive list of participants: E.O. Wilson, Oliver Sacks, Alan Alda, Glenn Close, Yo-Yo Ma, and Dean Kamen, to name a few. The crème de la crème of the scientific community (including a number of Nobel Laureates), performing and visual artists, innovators in business, and policy-makers will engage in a public discussion about science and encourage scientific discovery and education.

Google Earth in its current form went live in June 2005. In addition to allowing users to fly to their childhood homes, zoom in on potential vacation spots, and explore under the sea and atop the world's highest peaks, the virtual mapping software has proven instrumental in a number of scientific discoveries -- several in 2009 alone. Here's a look back at some of the highlights.

Any guesses on future Google Earth discoveries? Will Google Earth be an ever-more-important scientific tool in the future? Post in the comments.

Previously, it was believed that dancing was unique to humans. Now, two separate studies have shown that parrots have the ability to bob their heads and tap their feet to a number of different beats, proving that humans aren't the only ones with rhythm. One of the birds studied even has a favorite song: "Everybody" by the Backstreet Boys.

On March 25 at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, 175 students competed in the final round of the city's largest high school science and engineering research competition. The New York City Science and Engineering Fair (NYCSEF) is sponsored by the NYC Department of Education and the City University of New York. The 19 NYCSEF winners will go on to Intel's International Science and Engineering Fair in Reno, Nevada, May 10-16, to compete for scholarships and other prizes totaling nearly $4 million.

Popular Science caught up with some of the students, whose stunning projects covered such complex topics as stem cell research, wind energy, and cancer treatments. Some of them are already packing up their projects for the trip to Nevada.

Evolution in the Fast Lane

Members of the Zosteropidae family are not birds of a feather. White-eyes, sparrow-like songbirds, are the fastest-evolving bird on record. According to a recent genetic analysis of several dozen subspecies by Chris Filardi, a biologist at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, 80 species have emerged in the past two million years. Among vertebrates, only the cichlid fish evolves faster, probably due to abrupt changes in its geographically confined habitat, a common catalyst for speciation. But white-eyes populate three continents, so Filardi suspects that sexual selection and social behavior drives the birds' speedy diversification, which includes changing plumage and songs.