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Editor's Note: Scientific American 's George Musser will be chronicling his experiences installing solar panels in Solar at Home (formerly 60-Second Solar). Read his introduction here and see all posts here .    [More]

By Meredith Wadman

One of the better-kept secrets about the massive clinical research hospital at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Md., has been tucked away for half a century in Wing D of a building that dates to 1953. [More]

NEW YORK CITY--More than 100 countries have signed on to the Copenhagen Accord --the nonbinding agreement to combat climate change hastily agreed to this past December at a summit of world leaders. As signatories, the countries agree to cut greenhouse gas emissions to keep global average temperatures from warming more than 2 degrees Celsius. The countries that have signed up to date represent more than 80 percent of the global emissions of such heat-trapping gases. [More]

If you think your morning cup of joe only has 12 ounces (35 centiliters) of water in it, you're sorely mistaken--it has closer to 40 gallons (150 liters). Conservation scientists say it's time consumers become aware of the quantity and source of water that goes into growing, manufacturing and shipping food. [More]

"Smart" phones offer the intelligence of a computer, with the convenience of a phone. "Smart" meters let homeowners choose between using cheap and expensive electricity.

The next frontier: "smart" trash?