Editor's note

The airline industry will need to respond to a number of effects from climate change, including rising sea levels encroaching on coastal runways and stronger winds at high altitudes. But an even bigger challenge could be getting planes off the ground in the first place due to extremely high air temperatures. Climate scientists Ethan Coffel and Radley Horton explain the physics of aerodynamics in hot weather and discuss their research on the other problems many airports might see as the planet heats up.

The TV series “13 Reasons Why,” which chronicles the suicide of a teenage girl, has been one of Netflix’s most popular shows. But since its March release, educators and school psychologists have wondered if the series glamorizes suicide – and might lead to more deaths. Are their fears justified? A team of USC researchers analyzed suicide-related searches on Google in the weeks after the show’s release.

As the U.S. ponders how to invigorate its aging infrastructure, we explore a new “green infrastructure” proposal that promises to cut costs and protect the environment: Let property owners buy and sell credits based on their stormwater runoff – and the market will take care of the rest

Jeff Inglis

Editor, Science + Technology

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When is it too hot to fly? Dmitri Fedorov/Shutterstock.com

How hot weather – and climate change – affect airline flights

Ethan Coffel, Columbia University; Radley Horton, Columbia University

Major airports around the world will see more frequent flight restrictions in the coming decades because of increasingly common hot temperatures.

Arts + Culture

Science + Technology

Politics + Society

  • Imagining Russia post-Putin

    Peter Rutland, Wesleyan University

    Stepping back from the current crisis in US-Russia relations, a Soviet expert asks: what's in store for Russia in the long term, and is a peaceful transition possible when Putin's gig is up?

Environment + Energy

Economy + Business

Ethics + Religion

  • What is the Shia-Sunni divide?

    Ken Chitwood, University of Florida

    There have been several attacks on Shia mosques in several parts of the world. At its heart is the centuries'-old sectarian Shia-Sunni divide.

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Today’s interesting fact

Socrates was worried that writing down knowledge would divorce information from its original spoken source and irreversibly weaken people’s memories.

  Nicholas Bowman