pBOULDER, Colo. ndash;nbsp;As the West has warmed and dried over the past 30 years, headlines describing fire season have grown ever more apocalyptic: quot;epicquot; dryness, quot;monsterquot; fires, new records for damage and devastation./p a href=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=fire-deficit-trigger-fiercer-wildfire[More]/a
pPower plants are guzzling water across the United States and increasing the risk of blackouts in the Southeast, where the precious resource is drying up./p a href=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=electricity-generation-buring-rivers-drought-southeast[More]/a
pYou know what fiber#39;s good for--to keep things moving smoothly downstairs. But it#39;s not just for staying regular. Fiber can boost the number of beneficial bacteria in your gut, too. That#39;s according to a study in the Journal of Nutrition . [Seema Hooda et al, 454 Pyrosequencing Reveals a Shift in Fecal Microbiota of Healthy Adult Men Consuming Polydextrose or Soluble Corn Fiber ]/p a href=http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=fiber-boosts-bowel-beneficial-bacte-12-06-29[More]/a
p Last week I got back from the joint Animal Behaviour Society and Human Behaviour and Evolution Society (HBES) conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It had a good mix of good, bad and ugly (well, awkward) presentations, but one thing that struck me in particular was the sheer number of early career researchers (even undergrads) that were there. Has it always been the case the undergrads go to conferences? Anyway, given that I ve been lucky enough to go to at least one major international conference each year since the start of my PhD, I thought I d try and impart some light-hearted words of wisdom about getting through a conference unscathed./pp 1. Talk or Poster? /p a href=http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=the-phds-guide-to-academic-conferences[More]/a
p The following is an excerpt from Permanent Emergency: Inside the TSA and the Fight for the Future of American Security , by Kip Hawley and Nathan Means (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012). /p a href=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=truth-tsa-fight-american-security[More]/a
p /ppSometimes, zoo animals behave unnaturally. Most animals on display at zoos are not really designed for captive living. If you#8217;ve been to a zoo, no doubt you#8217;ve noticed evidence of this: a tiger who paces back and forth, or a monkey that does nothing but circle the enclosure. Life in captivity can even result in various forms of self-harm: a bird that plucks out its feathers, or a horse that bites at her own body, occasionally drawing blood./p a href=http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=chimpanzee-infanticide-at-the-la-zoo[More]/a
pPsychedelic drugs are making a quiet comeback, as a smattering of recent studies have demonstrated their medicinal potential. The latest finding suggests it is time to revisit LSD as a treatment for addiction./p a href=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=lsd-may-cure-some-addicts[More]/a
pThe annual Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting brings a wealth of scientific minds to the shores of Germanyrsquo;s Lake Constance. Every summer at Lindau, dozens of Nobel Prize winners exchange ideas with hundreds of young researchers from around the world. Whereas the Nobelists are the marquee names, the younger contingent is an accomplished group in its own right. In advance of this yearrsquo;s meeting, which focuses on physics, we are profiling several promising attendees under the age of 30. The profile below is the 30th in a series of 30./p a href=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=lindau-arnold-mathijssen[More]/a
pBy Sisi Tang/ppHONG KONG (Reuters) - As Hong Kong strives to consolidate its reputation as a financial hub and major offshore conduit for Chinas wealth, the smog that often envelops its skyscrapers exacts a heavy cost on its pro-business credentials and competitiveness./ppBusiness and green groups say outgoing chief executive Donald Tsang has failed to address a problem that costs an estimated $6 billion each year, according to health experts, with air quality in the former British colony now among the worst in Asia./ppNewspaper vendor Chung Tang, 74, knows just how bad it can be, working all day at a bus stop in Sheung Wan, a busy neighborhood next to the Central business district where pollution-free trams trundle along metal rails, between the cars and buses, just as they have done for more than 100 years./ppThey always say you should turn off the engine when you stop a car, he said as a bus spewed a trail of grey exhaust. a href=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=memo-to-hong-kongs-new-leader-must[More]/a
pThe annual Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting brings a wealth of scientific minds to the shores of Germanyrsquo;s Lake Constance. Every summer at Lindau, dozens of Nobel Prize winners exchange ideas with hundreds of young researchers from around the world. Whereas the Nobelists are the marquee names, the younger contingent is an accomplished group in its own right. In advance of this yearrsquo;s meeting, which focuses on physics, we are profiling several promising attendees under the age of 30. The profile below is the 29th in a series of 30./p a href=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=lindau-claire-thomas[More]/a
pBy Prak Chan Thul/ppPHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodian villagers demonstrated on Friday against a controversial Lao hydropower dam that activists say is being built in defiance of an agreement to assess its potentially damaging impact on millions of people first./ppAbout 200 villagers whose livelihoods depend on the Mekong River urged a halt to the Thai-led construction of the $3.5 billion Xayaburi dam, which has angered Cambodias government and triggered a rare rebuke by Laoss biggest ally, Vietnam./ppThis dam wont just affect the people in our country but will also affect many parts of Laos, said Buddhist monk So Pra, organizer of the protest in Kompong Cham province, 124 km (77 miles) from the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh./ppThe Xayaburi dam is one of dozens planned as part of Laoss aggressive push to boost its tiny $7.5 billion economy and become the battery of Southeast Asia by exporting the vast majority of its power./ppForeign governments are concerned Laos is prioritizing its growth ambitions over ecological and environmental protection./ppUnder pressure from neighbors that felt its environmental impact study was inadequate, Laos agreed in December to suspend the project pending an assessment by foreign experts. a href=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=cambodian-villagers-protest-controv[More]/a
