A new digital revolution is coming, this time in fabrication.

Coal combustion is the largest source of carbon dioxide emissions on the planet. But the fuel isn't going away anytime soon, since demand for it is ballooning in the developing world. So instead of indulging in quixotic visions of a coal-free world, policymakers should focus on supporting new technologies that can reduce how much carbon coal emits.

The main health threat in developing states today is not plagues or parasites but illnesses such as cancer and diabetes, noncommunicable diseases long associated with the rich world.

In 2010, U.S. President Barack Obama articulated his vision for the future of American space exploration, which included an eventual manned mission to Mars. Such an endeavor would surely cost hundreds of billions of dollars -- maybe even $1 trillion.

In their single-minded pursuit of economic growth, China's leaders have long overlooked public health—which, by some measures, is now worse than under Mao.

A new book by Ian Morris tracks the development of the East and the West over the millennia.

A favorite view of the Internet holds that the democratization of communications will bring about the democratization of the world.

With one billion people already going hungry and the world's population rising, global food production must urgently be increased. But Africa can manage this surge -- if it finally uses the seeds, fertilizers, and irrigation methods common everywhere else.

Three new books about water agree that the world is facing serious water crises but have very different ideas about how to address them, especially when it comes to deciding what roles the public and private sectors have to play.

Cubans want the United States to lift its long-standing embargo on Cuba, but any serious easing of trade and travel restrictions between the two countries may badly harm Cuba's health-care industry.

The United States' commitment to helping treat HIV patients is limiting Washington's leverage over recipient countries and undermining other development goals.

The "green revolution" dramatically boosted crop yields throughout the world, but it also bred overconfidence and complacency.

Cyberwarfare is not an abstract future threat.

Hunger remains one of world's gravest humanitarian problems, but the United States has failed to prioritize food aid and agricultural development.

Politicians have it in their power to solve the food crisis, but they must be willing to end the biases against big commercial farms and genetically modified crops and do away with farm subsidies.

Pathological hubris is a disease that can plague leaders and threaten international security. Doctors must put transparency ahead of confidentiality and disclose leaders' sicknesses to the public.

The United States can curb its own emissions and encourage energy effeciency and the development of clean-energy technology worldwide by rethinking carbon regimes.

The need to prepare for an influenza pandemic has not yet sunk in, partly because disaster has not yet struck. But that good news could turn into very bad news if it leads to slacking off on necessary preparations today: although no one can predict when or how, a pandemic will occur for sure, and it will have implications far beyond its toll on human health.