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Editor's Note: The following is an excerpt from the introduction of the new book Ordinary Geniuses: Max Delbr

As Hurricane Irene trundles toward the densely populated cities of the U.S. [More]

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Historians have speculated for years that global environmental changes caused some ancient wars to erupt, or even societies to collapse. Such connections may still exist--because new research finds that the risk of civil war in tropical countries increases during hot, dry El Nino years as opposed to cooler La Nina periods.

Historians have speculated for years that global environmental changes caused some ancient wars to erupt, or even societies to collapse. Such connections may still exist--because new research finds that the risk of civil war in tropical countries increases during hot, dry El Nino years as opposed to cooler La Nina periods. The study is in the journal Nature .

By Timothy Gardner and Ayesha Rascoe WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A proposed $7 billion Canada-to-Texas pipeline cleared a major obstacle on Friday with the release of U.S. State Department review that suggested it would have limited environmental impact

By Timothy Gardner and Ayesha Rascoe WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A proposed $7 billion Canada-to-Texas pipeline cleared a major obstacle on Friday with the release of U.S.

From the sidewalk there's almost no evidence that behind the walls of the energy-from-waste plant in Alexandria, Va., an incinerator is burning garbage at more than 1,700 degrees Fahrenheit and providing electricity to thousands of homes.

* Hurricane to land at N. Carolina Saturday, rake up coast * Tens of thousands of coastal dwellers start to evacuate [More]

* Hurricane to land at N. Carolina Saturday, rake up coast * Tens of thousands of coastal dwellers start to evacuate [More]

X-rays can help reveal anything from bombs hidden in luggage to tumors in breasts, but some potentially vital clues might be too faint to capture with conventional methods. Now a new x-ray technique adapted from atom smashers could resolve more key details. Conventional x-ray imaging works much like traditional photography, relying on the light--in this case, x-rays--that a target absorbs, transmits and scatters.

My first city was Conan Doyle’s London, in the company of Holmes and Watson. My mother gave me a two-volume omnibus edition when I was 10

The city looms large in the fiction of author William Gibson. In the September issue of Scientific American, Gibson's essay, "Life in the Meta-City," details how cities increase "the number and randomization of potential human and cultural contacts" and how they serve as "vast, multilayered engines of choice." Cities that cease to provide choice--or which try to overcontrol their denizens--lose their spark and sometimes perish. In the interview that follows, Gibson shares his perceptions about existing cities and their links to his fiction.

Anyone in the eastern portion of the U.S. this week who was forced to evacuate an office, home or school following Tuesday's magnitude 5.8 earthquake soon noticed that cell phone service was spotty or, in many cases, nonexistent.