Features
Point. Click. Kill: Inside The Air Force’s Frantic Unmanned Reinvention
The age of remote-control warfare isn’t coming–it’s here, and not even the Air Force, which made it happen, is entirely prepared. Here, a firsthand look at the struggle to train thousands of drone pilots virtually overnight. By Eric Hagerman
PopSci U: Seven of the Country’s Coolest SciTech Courses
So you want to explore the deepest caves? Design the cars of the future? Fire rockets? Don’t wait until you graduate. Here are 10 college programs that offer the most fun per credit—and can help you land your ideal job. By Rena Marie Pacella
Real Genius: Eight Brilliant Inventors Still in High School
While their peers worry about zits, these rising young stars are designing lunar bioreactors and new cancer drugs. What did you accomplish before turning 18? Meet our eight future Edisons here. By Blaire Briody
MIT For Free
The world’s most prestigious universities have begun posting entire curricula on the Web—for free. But how much can you really learn with a DIY online education? I enrolled to find out**. By Josh Dean
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Green Dream: Putting the Earth to Work With a Geothermal Heating System
Drilling a geothermal well to help cool and heat the dream home. By John B. Carnett
Headlines
- Sensors Mounted On Commercial Airliners Networked For Most Accurate Weather Forecasts Ever
- A Dental Filling Made from Bile and Silica
- How It Works: Protecting New Orleans With The World’s Largest Water Pump
- Parachute Pulls Orbital Debris Back to Earth
- “Quantum Quest” Brings Stars of Science (and William Shatner) to the Big Screen
- 30-Second Science: Applied Math
What’s New
- Easy Rider: The Brammo Enertia
- Tech Trend: Laptops as Light as the Macbook Air–For Half the Price
- A Breakthrough In the Human-Automobile Interface Race
- How it Works: A TV Speaker That’s Almost Paper-Thin
- The Ultimate Modern Day Study Gear
How 2.0
- You Built What!? Lrry, A Fire Breathing Robo-Beast
- Build It: A Touch-Activated Speakerphone
- Gray Matter: Burning Diamonds With a Torch and Liquid Oxygen
- Ask a Geek: With Netbooks So Cheap, Why Buy a Laptop?
FYI
- Do Other Animals Have Trouble With Wisdom Teeth?
- How Fast Would Someone Have to Sprint to Run on Water?
- Is There a Scientific Way to Measure How Bad a Fart Smells?