Startups could hold the key to space travel's future
We might be traversing our solar system far sooner than we think. Sure, NASA’s budgets have been steadily shrinking. But Jim Bell, a professor at Arizona State University’s School of Earth and Space...
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New music brings conservationist John Muir's story to life
Of all the figures that helped shape an early appreciation for the American landscape, John Muir is among the most iconic. Now his writing and his life are being celebrated in music and song.The piece,...
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Lima taps ancient Andean canals to help fight its water shortage
The solution — or at least part of the solution — to Miriam Cacho’s water woes might lie in some ancient and mostly-forgotten stone canals that line the mountains far above her home.Cacho lives in a...
View ArticleWhen given an 'oven' — chimps will cook
It turns out that humans and chimpanzees share more than a common ancestor and a whole lot of DNA. A new study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B suggests that chimps have several of the...
View ArticleEurope blocked it. Why is US allowing Facebook's new facial recognition feature?
In recent months, debate over the Patriot Act has sparked a renewed interest around questions of digital privacy. But while much of the focus has been on the government’s access to citizens’ digital...
View ArticlePakistanis must deal with a heatwave while fasting for Ramadan
You'd think that in this day and age, no one would die from heatstroke any more.What's the use of all that energy we generate if you can't power a simple fan to cool down? Well, it's not that...
View ArticleThawing permafrost could have catastrophic consequences, scientists warn
Scientists at the UN climate negotiations in Bonn warn that new data about the melting of the Earth’s permafrost, and projections of a “permafrost carbon feedback loop,” suggest that the Earth is...
View ArticleSelf-driving trucks are already driving the highways near you
Consider this: Almost everything you own has been on a truck at one point or another. America is simply dependent on trucking to feed us, house us, and employ us.And although humans depend on trucking,...
View ArticleSilk, nature's miracle, new material for state-of-the-art medical devices
It's more that a tie, bedsheets or a comfy, sleek shirt or dress. Get ready for silk's role in state-of-the-art medical devices.“I’ve never seen or found or worked with any other material from nature...
View ArticleClimate change poses a massive health risk, but fighting it will be good for...
When The Lancet talks, people tend to listen. It’s one of the world’s most influential medical journals. And here’s what it’s saying this week: Climate change represents a “potentially catastrophic...
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Japan has just built the world's most powerful offshore wind turbine
Eventually, the combined output from the three offshore turbines is expected to reach 14 megawatts. Credit: Toru Yamanaka/ReutersFour years after the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl, Japan has...
View ArticleWe're in the middle of the world's sixth mass extinction event — and may not...
A new head-spinning research paper published this month in the journal Science Advances finds that a mass extinction is underway — the sixth of its kind in Earth's 4.5 billion year history.Since the...
View ArticleRepurposing drugs: How old vaccines are finding new uses
Repurposing works for shoes and even furniture, but what about drugs?Researchers are looking at existing drugs already approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of one disease, to...
View ArticleWorld leaders announce goal of fossil fuel freedom by 2100 at UN Climate...
Seven leading democratic nations have announced their goal to make the world fossil fuel free by the end of this century.The news came at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany...
View ArticleIt's a Star Trek and Blade Runner future, we're just living in it
You are now living in the future.No, it’s not because you have access to the entire world’s knowledge via a phone in your pocket. And it’s not because of virtual reality, or the 3D printing craze.The...
View ArticleSpaceX rocket blasts apart after liftoff
NASA suffered its third resupply failure in seven months when a SpaceX rocket headed to the International Space Station apparently blew up about two minutes after liftoff in Florida on Sunday...
View ArticleA solar-powered airplane is breaking records over the Pacific Ocean
Miles above the Pacific Ocean, Andre Borschberg is stuffed in the cockpit of a tiny solar plane — and he's at the point of no return.If successful, Borschberg’s flight from Japan’s Nagoya Airfield to...
View ArticleUntil Monday, the EPA was making progress with President Obama's clean power...
One year ago this week, at Georgetown University, President Barack Obama gave his most expansive speech on climate change. Central to his plans are regulations that would rein in CO2 emissions from...
View ArticleHow do you explain the leap second to a 6-year-old?
OK, we all know how long a day is, right? One spin of the Earth, a full rotation.Long ago, someone somewhere chopped that full day up into bits they called hours, decided there were 24 of them in one...
View ArticleAt Monterey Bay Aquarium, this aquarist feeds, entertains and researches an...
A giant Pacific octopus looked like it was trying to devour Chris Payne. The 15-pound mollusk, currently donning bright-red coloration, swam near the edge of an aquarium tank and was wrapping her...
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