topicEnviro2

Numbers Don’t Lie: Derek Jeter is a Horrible Shortstop

Numbers Don’t Lie: Derek Jeter is a Horrible Shortstop

A New Tool Purports to Deliver the Most Accurate Fielding Statistics Ever.

New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez batted a .286 in 2009. That’s .283 on Astroturf, .268 at night and .313 for games played away from home. His batting average may be scrutinized ad infinitum, but how his defensive performance stacks up is less clear. Baseball players accumulate a wealth of hitting and pitching statistics throughout their careers, but quantifying how they field has always proved difficult. Now, all that could change. A team of statisticians at the University of Pennsylvania developed a model they say is the most accurate fielding measurement ever published. More…

articles blog
Pretty Fly (for a Small Guy)

Pretty Fly (for a Small Guy)

An unusual team builds a pipetting robot out of Legos for a genetic engineering competition.

The Singularity Summit Was Near; It Has Now Come and Gone

The Singularity Summit Was Near; It Has Now Come and Gone

A weekend conference on crazy ideas about the future that may not be so crazy.

Fusion’s Kept and Broken Promises

The World’s Largest Fusion Reactors Are Under Construction but Cheap Energy Is Still Just a Dream

Electric Shock

Vehicles could get a boost in gas mileage from GenShock, a shock absorber developed by students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Cosmic Cancer

Exposure to space radiation on long-term interplanetary voyages could threaten astronauts’ health and thwart manned missions.

Battling Over Aging Nuclear Warheads

A proposal to upgrade the U.S. arsenal has sparked an explosive debate.