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China has set up an ambitious goal of getting 5 million or more electric cars on the streets, and this is not just a pipe dream - the government is taking active measures to speed up the production by building more charging stations.
Hurricane Joaquin is an active tropical cyclone that severely impacted large parts of the Bahamas and is currently threatening Bermuda, although its extremities will also pass through other areas in the Atlantic, including Britain. Now, according to NASA data, the hurricane will be experiencing a phenomenon called eyewall replacement.
Over a period of 50 days of monitoring, researchers found 2,625 different plant species for sale on eBay. 510 were known to be invasive in at least one region somewhere in the world and out of that group, 35 are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s list of the 100 worst invasive species. With […]
A few days ago, we were telling you about a potentially groundbreaking study which found a rather surprising correlation between height and cancer incidence. The study made quite a wave within the scientific community and was met with quite mixed opinions. Here are some of those impressions, from leading experts in the field. Prof Mel […]
Yesterday, we wrote about how the Chinese will be selling genetically engineered micro-pigs as pets; the pigs, which were originally developed to serve as cheaper models for the human body, were engineered to grow only up to 25 kgs, but they also raise some important concerns: is it ethical? Should we engineer animals so that […]
Publication bias strikes again: because only positive results are published in scientific journals, medical literature greatly overstates the benefits of talk therapy for depression.
After the recent Volkswagen fiasco which revealed that their cars emit much more than they should (and claimed), a new study revealed that diesel cars made by Renault, Nissan, Hyundai, Citroen, Fiat, Volvo and many others also emit more.
Further increasing their conservation efforts, New Zealand will develop the world's largest oceanic sanctuary - twice as big as their entire country.
Many researchers have expressed concerns about using such advanced techniques for such frivolous purposes, and personally, I feel like this could cascade onto many other problems - despite their undeniable cuteness.
Paleontologists believe they have found the oldest evidence of the bubonic plague, embedded in a flea trapped in amber for the past 20 million years. This could provide insight onto how this devastating disease appeared and evolved.
Italy is home to some of the world's most interesting volcanoes.
A rosy, star-forming nebula thousands of light years away from Earth is "blossoming" in a dazzling cosmic spectacle. Messier 17, also known as the Omega Nebula, the Swan Nebula and the Horseshoe Nebula was shot in some remarkable photos revealed by the European Space Agency.
University of Washington researchers have created the first telepathic link between two humans. Their technique didn't rely on supernatural powers, but rather on nerve impulses, electrodes, and advanced science.
Enamel, the hard, mineralized substance that covers your teeth originated on tough fish scales and then migrated to the teeth, researchers found
Scientific publishing is a competitive environment, under heavy scrutiny from reviewers, editor and peers. Over the years, some studies get retracted, and that’s not a bad thing in itself; a study can be retracted because more data is available, disproving it, or because a human or technical error snuck in – that’s perfectly understandable, and […]
For the first time, Japanese researchers have successfully grown a pair of kidneys in a lab and then transplanted them into animals. The organs functioned just fine, and this gives big hopes for the transplants ultimately moving to humans.
Scientists working at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) have created a very specific type of material from over 1 billion magnets placed in a specific configuration. Astonishingly, its magnetic properties now change with temperature, just like water can be liquid, solid and gaseous based on temperature.
A group of scientists working at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has managed to successfully transfer information from on proton to another one 100 kilometers away (60 miles). This could ultimately lead not to actual teleportation, but rather to unhackable conversations.
For the first time, National Geographic magazine is inviting its readers to submit their photos on the Your Shot section and decide the next cover. The winning photo, chosen by National Geographic Traveler magazine editors, will appear on the cover of the December 2015/January 2016 issue, which will feature the annual “Best of the World” list. Here are […]
Trilobites were some of the most dominant creatures on the face of the planet, thriving from the mid Cambrian 521 million years ago to the start of the Mesozoic, 250 million years ago. Paleontologists have now found the earliest evidence for molting - a trilobite shedding its skin 365 million years ago.
Drones are often feared as instruments of destruction, and as John Oliver pointed out, in some parts of the world, people fear blue skies because that’s when the drones strike. But this technology isn’t only used to destroy – it can also be used to create, as demonstrated by these very efficient quadrocopters building a rope […]
Researchers from the University of Washington and the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence (AI2) have developed a computer software that scored 49% on high-school geometry SAT tests - an average score for a human, but a great one for current AIs.
The Øresund bridge is a wonder of engineering, and one of the coolest engineering accomplishments on the planet.
Middle Age Europe was a place ruled by superstition and mythical beliefs - at least some parts of it were. Now, researchers are trying to figure out what made some people in Poland believe there was an 'outbreak of vampires' in the 17th and 18th century.
About 260 million years ago, this pre-reptile might not have looked like much. With its knobby face and about as big as a cow, Bunostegos akokanensis was actually pretty remarkable. According to a new analysis, it was actually the first creature to walk upright on all four legs, maintaining a fully erect gate.
The tallest structure ever built by mankind on Earth is actually an oil rig - Troll A.
The Norwegian Ministry of Culture has finalized a transition date from Frequency Modulation (FM) radio to Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) radio. They will thus become the first country in the world to switch completely from FM radio.
Fourteen years ago, a leading drug maker conducted a study which concluded that Paxil, an antidepressant, was effective and safe for teenagers. But now, a major medical journal published an analysis concluded the opposite.
The world is at an extremely dangerous crossroads: if we keep using non-renewable hydrocarbons and coal the way we have, we'll be rising global temperatures to a point where the consequences are extremely dire, but in many parts of the world, renewable energy is simply not cheap enough, and people don't want to pay for it. Faced with this conundrum, we may have an unexpected ally that could solve our problems: nuclear energy.
It’s the science that makes you laugh, and then makes you think. It’s a tradition not nearly as established as the Nobel awards, and not nearly as reputable – since 1991, some of the planet’s best and most creative researchers have gathered each year to celebrate and appreciate the most ridiculous scientific discoveries which could […]
The Arctic is overrun with giant mosquitoes: larger, furrier versions of the mosquitoes we all know and hate. As temperatures in the Arctic continue to rise, these mosquitoes can not only brood for a longer period of time, but they can survive more, in higher numbers. According to a new study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences this is a major problem, and one that will continue to grow as the planet gets hotter.
Regular soap is really good at killing bacteria, but most people feel that antibacterial soaps are even better. After all, they're antibacterial, right? Well, according to a thorough research, that's not true at all - regular soap works just as good as antibacterial soap.
A research team has demonstrated the effectiveness of a 3-antibiotic cocktail that kills methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, in all mice that were treated with it.
Scientists have discovered the longest chain of continental volcanoes in the world, stretching almost 2000 km (1200 miles) on Australia's coast. The volcanic track includes 15 volcanoes formed over 30 million years ago.
An experiment has found that domestic dogs have lost some of their problem solving abilities, and wolves currently do a much better job than them. In her paper published in the journal Biology Letters, they describe this result, and also offer a possible explanation.
A massive 8.3 magnitude Earthquake struck the northern coast of Chile on Wednesday night, killing at least five people and causing buildings to sway in the capital city of Santiago. Following the earthquake, waves of up to 4.5 meters were reported in some areas of the coast. About one million people were evacuated.
As a new investigation showed today, the scientists of the biggest oil company in the world, Exxon Mobil knew about climate change back in the 70s - but they still helped block the Kyoto protocol in the 90s, and invest massive amounts of money into climate skepticism propaganda. Today, 9 out of 10 funded climate change deniers can be linked to Exxon.
According to a new report by the WWF, we're very close to losing fish species that are not only important for their ecosystems, but that are vital to our food security. The main culprit, as it usually happens, is humans: we've almost wiped out tuna and mackerel through overfishing.
Scientists have genetically modified yeast to produce the main psychoactive substance in marijuana, THC. Responsible for most of weed's effects (including the high), THC can also be used for medical purposes, to treat symptoms of HIV infection and chemotherapy.
Researchers at Purdue University in the US have developed a new tool for Android users that could increase your battery life by 16%.
A 28-year old who has been paralyzed for more than a decade following a spinal cord injury has become the first person to be able to “feel” physical sensations, through a special prosthetic developed by DARPA – the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, a US agency responsible for the development of emerging technologies, mostly for military purposes. The […]
Leafcutter ants in South America grow fungus as crops, this has been known for quite a while. But their crops show clear signs of domestication, which means that when it comes to farming, the ants might have beaten us by some 50 million years. Ant farmers When people started growing crops, they unwittingly made changes […]
They say that if you want to conquer a woman's heart, you first have to make her laugh, and the science seems to agree with that. A new study found that the more a man makes a woman laugh, the more the chances of a long term relationship grew.
An English historian has come across the "F word" in a court case dating back to 1310, making it the earliest reference to the swear word. Dr Paul Booth of Keele University found the name ‘Roger Fuckebythenavele’ as he was documenting the trial.
According to a new study published in Nature Climate Change, the snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains has reached the lowest levels in the past 500 years, underscoring the severe drought that is already affecting the state.
Temari (手まり?) balls are an ancient form of art that originated in China and got was introduced to Japan around the 7th century A.D., where it became very popular.
The world is heating up, that's no longer up for debate, but there are many ways through which we can discuss how much the planet has warmed. You can calculate global averages, chart rising levels, discuss freak weather events, but that's all difficult to understand and sometimes debatable.
Motivated by the love for their native lands and armed with bows, arrows, GPS trackers and camera traps, an indigenous community in northern Brazil is fighting to achieve what officials couldn't - stop illegal logging in their part of the Amazon.
The gargantuan cluster is 9.8 billion light years away from us, houses at least 27 galaxies and has a combined mass equal to 400 trillion Suns.
The Antarctic Ocean has been sucking more and more carbon dioxide - and this is both good news and bad news. For the Ocean's inhabitants, it's bad news because it increases acidity, which is extremely harmful; for everyone else, it's good news, because it mitigates the effects of climate change.
