We can’t protect ourselves from incoming ordnance, but we have a pretty good idea of what a big hit would be like
How You Can Name Pluto’s New Moons
The lonely ex-planet has some nameless babies to keep it company
EcocentricOil
Pipeline Politics: Backgrounding Keystone XL
Why has a single pipeline project gotten so much attention from the right and the left? TIME explains.
EcocentricGoing Green
Why Meat in China — and the U.S. — Has a Drug Problem
A new study shows widespread antibiotic resistance on Chinese farms, where use of the drugs to speed animal growth is common. That could have scary impacts for the rest of the world
How a Kitty Walked 200 Miles Home: The Science of Your Cat’s Inner Compass
A house cat’s long-distance journey raises new questions about how animals navigate
Found: Humanity’s Great-Grand-Rat
A new study finds our most distant ancestor — a cool 65 million years back.
Interactive: CSI, Richard III – The Secrets in His Skeleton
A long-forgotten historical text, a mysterious skeleton and a round of fortuitous DNA testing led scientists to a most remarkable discovery: The remains of Richard III. Scan the bones below, and follow the trail of evidence
EcocentricEcocentric
Can An Outdoorsy CEO Manage the Interior Department’s Split Personality?
REI chief Sally Jewell gets the nod to become President Obama’s next Interior Secretary. She’ll try to balance the department’s conservation and economic responsibilities
A Mirror Earth Right Around the Corner?
A new study suggests Earth-like worlds might be more numerous — and a lot closer — than we knew
2.2 billion
— Metric tons of CO2 equivalent emitted by U.S. power plants in 2011, according to new numbers from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).