• The Environment

    Drop the Rifle and Pick up the Bear Spray

    By Gregory Mone Posted on 3.26.2008 8 Comments

    Brigham Young University bear biologist Thomas Smith says that guns aren't necessarily your best option when facing down one of the beasts. Smith and his team analyzed 20 years worth of incidents in Alaska, and found that the wilderness equivalent of pepper spray effectively deterred bears 92 percent of the time, whereas guns only did the trick one-third less often. (He studied polar bears, too, hence the picture, at left, of an unconscious mother and her cubs. And yes, he did get away before everyone woke up.)

  • Gadgets

    A Picture in Your Pocket

    By thescientist Posted on 1.9.2008 1 Comments

    Your next cellphone could have a 100-inch screen—without getting an inch bigger. Microvision's tiny PicoP projector can turn a wall, tabletop or any other surface into a display. It's small enough to fit in pocket-sized gadgets because it uses lasers, which sip power, are extremely bright, and produce little heat. They also do away with bulky lenses: The pinpoint beams are always in focus, from any distance.

  • The Environment

    Steve Nash's Trashy Kicks

    By Megan Miller Posted on 2.19.2008 3 Comments

    Former NBA MVP Steve Nash is known for many things: his Canadian citizenship, his diminutive stature for a basketball player (63 on his toes), even his now-shortened locks. But never has the term trash talk been associated with him—until now.


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February 2012: The Future of Fun

Science is reinventing play, from extreme sports to gamification to ridiculous roller coasters to the playgrounds of tomorrow, and this issue is chock full of fun. Also, on a less fun note: Did global warming destroy my hometown?


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