Study shows emergency exits can work better when they’re obstructed
Having a small obstruction barring an emergency exit can actually increase its efficiency and limit stampede damage caused by chaos...
The creative and (often times) dirty things Romans wrote on walls
Writing on walls is one of the oldest things humans did - people drew on walls in the stone age,...
Invisibility cloak could help protect cities from earthquakes
French researchers say they are close to developing seismic ‘invisibility cloaks’ which would cancel out potentially hazardous earthquake shockwaves, protecting key...
New species of metal-eating plant discovered in the Philippines
Scientists from the Philippines have discovered a new plant with an unusual lifestyle - it eats nickel for a living....
Ground-breaking ‘Ultra-bright Atom Laser’ Developed in Crete – 7 times stronger than any developed to date
Researchers working in the Greek island of Crete have developed the world’s most powerful atom laser – fully seven times stronger...
Insecticide is killing honeybees, causing colony collapse disorder
A Harvard study shows insecticides with neonicotionoids are devastating honeybee colonies, triggering colony collapse disorder. Image via Wired. Recently, we've written a...
A recipe for disaster: antimicrobial resistance may lead to dystopian scenarios
A world where even minor infections can kill you, where almost no antibiotics are viable, with superbugs and drug-resistant strains...
Scientists engineer first living organism with unnatural DNA
The entire living world is "written" with just four DNA bases: A = adenine C = cytosine G = guanine T = thymine However,...
The Oh-My-God-Particle
The Oh-My-God particle was an ultra-high-energy cosmic ray (most likely a proton) detected on the evening of 15 October 1991...
Meet ‘Pinocchio rex’ – the 9 meter long, ferocious cousin of Tyrannosaurus Rex
A new type of Tyrannosaur with a very long "nose" has been nicknamed "Pinocchio rex" - but this dinosaur was nothing...
Dogs follow human voice direction to find hidden food
Dogs and puppies are really good at interpreting human vocal and visual cues, with previous studies already showing they can...
Rising CO2 poses significant threat to human nutrition
Image via Harvard University. If current trends continue, by 2050, the elevated levels of CO2 in the atmosphere will cause...
Psilocybin, the active substance in magic mushrooms, inhibits the processing of negative emotions in the brain
"Magic mushrooms" - via Wikipedia. Negative emotions like fear, sadness and anger evolved serving a purpose - enabling people to...
Interview with researcher Simone Kuhn about video games and the brain
A while ago, we published an article about a study which showed that playing video games improves spatial orientation, memory formation and...
Not just honeybees – wildbees, butterflies and moths are also in trouble
By now, you really should be aware of the honeybee problems that are plaguing populations throughout the world - their...
Bone marrow-on-a-chip could remove bone marrow animal testing
A new "organ on a chip" has been developed by Harvard researchers, reproducing the structure, functions, and cellular make-up of bone...
Mysterious lines in Peru that predate the Nazca lines are directions to major fairs
Rock lines discovered in Peru predate the famous Nazca lines by over 300 years, a new study concludes. However, the purpose...
New 3D printer allows you to print your own make-up at home
3D printing is the hot jazz nowadays, with applications varying from cranium and skin replacements to houses to nanoscale objects....
Climate Change is a Current Reality, lengthy US report concludes
Climate change is no longer a distant threat - it's happening now, and it poses real, clear dangers in the...
China Officially Outlaws Eating Endangered Animals
A baby pangolin, a target for many poachers. China has finally clarified the legislation regarding the consumption of endangered species....
Discovering Technological Attributes in The Not-So- Ordinary Computer
With all the different types of computers in modern times, special-purpose computers are becoming more and more advanced; nowadays, you...
Superheavy element 117 confirmed
It's a good day to be a chemist - a new, super-heavy element has been added to the periodic table...
Crazy ideas: The Phantom Time hypothesis
Heribert Illig, one of the theory's supporters. The phantom time hypothesis is a conspiracy theory developed in the 1980s and...
Cicada 3301: A puzzle for the brightest minds, posted by an unknown, mysterious organization
It's perhaps the most enigmatic and intriguing thing on the internet, which promises an "epiphany" when you solve it. No one...
The 2014 Smithsonian Photo Contest Finalists
© Daniel D’Auria. Finalist - Natural world. Smithsonian has just announced the 60 finalists for their 11th Annual Photo Contest. They selected...
Photographing the oldest living things in the world
Rachel Sussman is a contemporary artist who focuses on photographing the oldest living things in the world. As part of...
Old tires become material for new and improved roads
Scrap tires, which are very problematic to dispose of and can cause many problems, can now be used to lower road...
Bark beetles killing trees, affecting Rocky Mountains stream quality
A Bark Beetle infestation are killing millions of trees in the Rocky Mountains, up to the point where the quality...
Thinking ‘obesity is a disease’ makes you more likely to eat high-calorie foods
A study has concluded that if obesity is thought of as a disease instead as a problem related to diet/lack...
The science (or art?) of growing tree root bridges
In the depths of northeastern India, in one of the wettest places on earth, bridges aren't built—they're grown. Photo by...
Frozen in time: Three-million-year-old landscape still exists beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet
A geological study has revealed that the massive ice sheet has fixed the landscape in place, rather than destroying it. Image...
Distant Black Hole Spins at Half the Speed of Light
Credits: X-RAY: NASA/CXC/UNIV OF MICHIGAN/R.C.REIS ET AL; OPTICAL: NASA/STSCI About half of the Universe's lifetime ago, it was feasting time...
Excitons observed in action for the first time
A technique developed by MIT researchers reveals the motion of energy-carrying quasiparticles (excitons) in solid material. Let's work that out in...
MIT and Harvard researchers develop 100% internal cochlear implant
A cochlear implant that can be wirelessly recharged using the natural microphone of the middle ear rather than a skull-mounted sensor...
Europe will blast the top of a Chilean mountain to install the first telescope which directly studies signs of life on other planets
You just gotta love European engineers! They're about to blast away the top of a Chilean mountain to create a site...
Internet reduces retirees’ depression
According to a new study, spending time online can make drastically reduce depression rates in retirees, especially the ones who...
$42,000 Prosthetic Hand OutPerformed By $50 Printed Cyborg Beast
Over the last few months, we've written a lot about some fantastic 3D designs which can be very useful in...
Facebook activism rarely goes deeper than a single click
While there's nothing wrong in getting involved in Facebook campaigns... there's nothing inherently good either. According to a new study, viral...
Grand Canyon Geology Lesson – brought to you by NASA
The Grand Canyon is a favorite for tourists all over the world - but if you think it's cool to...
Scientists get paralysed patients to move again by zapping the patients’ spine with electricity
For people who become paralyzed after a spinal cord injury, the result is usually a life sentence of paralysis. However,...
Scientists discover the animal kingdom’s first ‘female penis’
A female insect has developed a spiky penis which it uses to get in charge . It's a role reversal, basically:...
NASA reports the first Earth-sized Exoplanet in the Habitable Zone
Artist's rendition of Kepler-186f - just 10% larger than Earth. Remember a few days ago, when I was telling you...
NASA spots 5 volcanoes erupting at the same time in Russia
Shiveluch Remote, cold, rugged, and fiedy - that's the Kamceatka Peninsula for you! Out of all the 1,550 volcanoes that have erupted...
The man who gave up money and lives in a cave in Utah
A while ago, we were telling you about the Iranian man who lives alone in the desert and hasn't washed...
GeoPicture of the Week (2): Volcanic eruption seen from the space shuttle
In this incredible capture taken on 30 September 1994, we see a major eruption of Klyuchevskaya Sopka as seen by the astronauts...
Toyota confirms confirms fuel cell launch for 2015; zero local emissions and 500-mile range
Toyota has officially announced that it will launch a hydrogen fuel cell-powered car in 2015, but said sales volumes would be...
Nanoparticles make turkey eggs microbe-resistant
Credits: JJ Harrison. Australian brush turkeys incubate their eggs in places most animals would stay clear of: moist piles of rotting...
Ancient throwing: archaeologists find a contract to “fix” a wrestling match in Ancient Greece
Prostitution may or may not be the oldest job in the world, but rigging goes a long way too. Researchers...
Two children have a gene mutation which protects them from many viruses, including influenza, hepatitis C and HIV
MOGS gene, via Wikipedia. A new study on which a swarm of scientists worked on showed that two children (an...
Over 70% of sea otters have H1N1 swine flu, and researchers don’t know how they got it
Photo: Mike Baird, via Flickr. Sea otters have entered a select, but unfortunate club: they joined the ranks of ducks, chickens, pigs,...