Among the many hazards facing human astronauts making long interplanetary journeys, radiation damage is one of the trickiest to combat. Sure, you could shield their capsule with lead, but then your logistics would take on epic proportions due to the massive weight of the vehicle and the subsequent need for more fuel.So you’d need to use something light – how about a few grams of hydrogen gas?

There are some fascinating complexities to living in an age of massive engineering. For example, what happens to a lake when an oil drilling platform on its surface punctures a salt mine underneath? Or how do you refill a lake that sprouted a few sinkholes?

It’s really only logical when you think about it. The relationship between industrial agricultural and the land, sun and rain is as tenuous as anything in this post-post-modern world, so why not snip that thin cord and grow crops underground?

Cory Doctorow’s got a new writing gig at Locus. His first column is vintage Doctorow: it’s all about copyright, content, and how science fiction writers get it when it comes to connecting to an audience.

Here’s a quick, interesting overview of the directions designers are taking email clients.