Scientists make everyday objects invisible from multiple angles
Inching along the path towards the perfect invisibility cloak.
Ancient Greeks used this 2,100-years-old analog computer for both astronomy and astrology
The oldest computer in the world was found a century ago, but scientists are still learning.
Eight in ten Americans can’t see the Milky Way due to light pollution
The vibrant night's sky that has enchanted countless generations is fading from from memory.
The Oscar winning algorithm that makes smoke and explosions seem real
You'll recognize the work instantly if you've seen movies like Avatar, Super 8 or Superman Man of Steel.
CO2 emissions turned into stone at experimental plant in Iceland
The Hellisheidi power plant is the largest geothermal system in the world, but also the site of a unique science...
Elon Musk visits Pentagon to talk about a ‘flying metal suit’
This Wednesday, serial entrepreneur Elon Musk met behind closed doors with United States Secretary of Defense Ash Carter down at the...
Hero Rats detect landmines and TB for a living
Detecting landmines can be difficult, dangerous and expensive, but an unsung hero is set to change all this.
Switzerland soon to open first carbon capture plant: interesting engineering or plain stupid?
No later than October, Climeworks expects to open the first ever commercial carbon dioxide capture plant in the world, near...
A monster supermassive black hole was surprised feeding on an unusual supper: cold gas
Astronomers used to think black holes feed exclusively on a hot gas and dust, but it seems they sometimes like...
The Black Plague that killed a third of Europe’s people can be traced to a single bacterial strain
One single bacterial strain is responsible for the death of millions.
The world’s oceans have way more light producing fish than we imagined
There are scores of marine species that have evolved light emitting abilities -- as many as four in five ocean...
Tallest tree in the Tropics is only a few meter shorter than Big Ben
A Yellow Meranti tree that towers at about 89.5m tall was discovered by Cambridge researchers in Malaysia.
Google scientists propose adding a ‘kill switch’ for A.I.
When in danger of A.I. overlords, press the big red button.
Microsoft sniffs for cancer clues in your search queries
Microsoft researchers data mined health queries and detected pancreatic cancer symptoms before the user even thought about it.
Worst pain known to man is caused by the world’s largest ant
The bullet packs the most painful punch in the animal kingdom.
Late-term babies are likelier to be classed as ‘gifted’ in school, but also at risk of health problems
Parents should know this if they want to make an informed decision.
Weird electric eel experiment proves 200-years-old anecdotal account by famous naturalist
One of the most famous biology myths was just confirmed. It was rather shocking.
Action video games like Call of Duty slightly improve cognition in young and older adults alike
Many parents view high-paced action video games as a pernicious pastime for their children, but science says otherwise.
Ultra-thin flat lens leads to smaller, better, cheaper optical devices: from telescopes to VR goggles
Flat lenses could revolutionize optics, researchers say.
Leading scientists will synthesize human genomes from scratch by 2026
Scientists want to build and deploy a fully synthetic human genome in human cell lines within 10 years.
Marijuana use doesn’t affect your physical health, except for one aspect: your gums
A longitudinal study which tracked 1,037 New Zealanders from birth to middle age found marijuana use did not cause physical...
The Inglorious Legacy of the ‘Iron Curtain’ in 20 Maps
Having their troops and secret agents infiltrated through half of Europe all the way to Germany, the Soviet Union as...
Rooftop solar is getting dirt cheap. That’s good news for consumers, but trouble for businesses
The low prices are making a lot of rooftop residents jubilant, but the same can't be said about the largest...
Climate change is making food crops toxic
A startling report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) says food crops like wheat and maize are generating toxins...
Here’s why Elon Musk thinks we might be characters in a giant computer simulation
At Recode's Code Conference serial entrepreneur Elon Musk gave his own two cents on why our existence could be in...
Why goats have really weird rectangular pupils
Goat eyes can be pretty freak. But there's a very good reason why they have this distinct square shape.
Mysterious Planet 9 that’s hiding somewhere in our solar system might be stolen from another star
One group from Lund University in Sweden says Planet 9 or Planet X, as it's sometimes called, might actually be...
Painkiller abuse leads to first rise in U.S. death rate in a decade
The United States, a nation who's used to reporting lower mortality ever year, had a larger death rate in 2015...
Culture drives distinct genetic evolution in killer whales — the first non-human animal to do so
Researchers at University of Bern, Switzerland, found Orcinus orca (killer whales) populations have evolved distinct genetic lineages due to unique...
Both Democrats and Republicans use simpler grammar than 50 years ago. Trump most of all, to good effect
Analysists from Grammarly looked at all the general election debate transcripts since the 1960s word for word and found Presidential...
Zika virus might cross from mother to fetus by hiding in immune cells
A massive breakthrough in the fight against the Zika virus was made by Emory University School of Medicine who recently...
What sorting algorithms look and sound like
I wish these were around during my first computer science course.
Bumblebees detect flowers’ electric field with their tiny hairs
Research showed flowers, and plants in general, generate an electric field and bumblebees can sense it with their tiny hairs.
Physicists add another box to ‘Schrödinger’s cat’, as if one wasn’t spooky enough
Now, the cat is both dead and alive and sits in two boxes -- all at the same time. Here...
In 2002 Airbus patented a trap door to keep terrorists away from the cockpit
Take that, terrorists!
Genetically modified bacteria converts CO2 into liquid fuels
Daniel G. Nocera, the Harvard professor who made headlines five years ago when he unveiled an artificial leaf, recently unveiled...
Global warming kills half of coral on the Northern Great Barrier Reef
A study of 84 reefs along the Great Barrier Reef revealed one-third of the coral reefs of the central and...
Why rats can’t vomit, and how they make up for it
Rats can't vomit and it's pretty surprising.
Climate change on the Red Plant: Mars is emerging out of an ice age
Swirling patterns in the ice of Mars' North Pole suggest the planet is emerging out of a long ice age...
Archimedes’ legacy: inventions and discoveries
Archimedes was the greatest mathematician of his age.
The U.S. Military is still using floppy disks to coordinate its nuclear arsenal
Some might be surprised to learn that the country's entire nuclear arsenal is still programmed on floppy disks, and army...
Who invented the induction motor
The induction motor is one of the most important inventions in modern history.
How to slow down light until it stops
In vacuum, light always travels at a constant speed of 299,792,458 metres per second. Nothing can travel faster than this...
Decade-long study shows how air pollution is killing you
A decade-long study of thousands of Americans has found direct evidence of how air pollution causes heart disease. The link...
A minivan-sized sea sponge was found by NOAA — the biggest ever
It's the largest any human has come across.
Amazing lighting strikes filmed at 7,000 frames per second
Researchers at the Florida Institute of Technology had an awesome day on the field with their 7,000 frames per second...
Galactic warming triggered by supermassive black holes leads to stellar infertility
The analysis suggests some supermassive black holes, which lie at the heart of virtually any galaxy, turn their host galaxies...
Most powerful X-ray machine blasts water droplets for science
Stanford researchers fired extremely bright flashes of light from the world's most powerful X-ray laser onto droplets of liquid. These...
Biodegradable plastics don’t break down in the ocean, U.N. says
According to a 179-page report released by the U.N., biodegradable plastics degrade far too slow in the oceans, voiding any...
Supermassive blackholes are giants from birth
At the heart of virtually every galaxy, including the Milky Way, is a supermassive blackhole that's anywhere from hundreds of...