麻豆传媒

Of fusion, Nobels and nobility: The pursuit of kudos and wealth has clouded the excitement in the search for cold fusion, and laid some formidable reputations on the line

Salmon farming’s unsavoury side: Sterner controls are needed to protect the environment from fish farms

The threat of the well-bred salmon: Fish farmers look to the development of the ideal salmon. But what’s a boon for the farmers could spell disaster for the diversity of wild salmon

Vietnam looks to Western science: Withdrawal of its troops from Kampuchea, should gain Vietnam the West’s political approval. The country’s scientists hope that this will lead to more projects with Western scientists

Pluto – the planet that came in from the cold: For more than 50 years, astronomers knew virtually nothing about the ninth planet. Now, thanks to its oversized moon and to a lucky star, we have found what Pluto looks like, what it is made of and what kind

Geologists hit back at impact theory of extinctions

Laying the ground rules for nitrate: Fertilisers applied to growing crops are not the major cause of nitrate pollution. The way we farm is. Has the current debate paid enough attention to what actually happens in the soil?

Chronicle of the lustful plants: A comic scientific poem written by a doctor-inventor, and published 200 years ago, created a sensation in the literary world

How to build a better fish: Fish farmers want to breed better fish to make their business more productive – But, first, biologists will have to work out the differences between fish and cows

Plastics protect the good life: We think of plastics as cheap, throwaway products that pollute the environment – Now, hard-wearing polymers containing fluorine could change that image

Death by antibody

Muscles for the job: A muscle can be long or short, can contract rapidly or slowly. How are particular muscles adapted for the tasks they have to do?

Physics

The search for dark matter in the laboratory: Across the world, small groups of physicists are tracking down the principal component of the Universe. Will it be the neutrino or will it be the axion? Place your bets, please . . .

Life

Reading the entrails of evolution