How to make biometric technology more secure
Fingerprint scanners now come standard on most new smartphones, and some devices even feature iris scanners and 2-D facial recognition technology. But with every new step forward in biometrics, it...
View ArticleWhat the aye-aye and the woodpecker can tell us about how evolution works
Is the evolution of particular traits predictable or random? Or put it this way: If we rewound the tape on Earth’s history and started life over again from the very beginning, would the same animals —...
View ArticleThe sweet stories of fake fruit flavors
What do icy cherry popsicles, sweet grape sodas and sticky banana taffy have in common?For one, we don’t expect them to taste much like the real fruits they’re meant to mimic — but their artificial...
View ArticleDoes a ‘green spot’ signal trouble for California’s massive Oroville Dam?
From day one of the Oroville spillway crisis in February, the California Department of Water Resources has never wavered in its declarations that, despite the disintegration of the massive concrete...
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Who controls the Northwest Passage? It's up for debate.
The Northwest Passage has an identity crisis.The US thinks it's international waters. Canada claims it as their internal waters. And as traffic through the arctic sea route increases, experts worry its...
View ArticleSilicon Valley takes a stand against President Trump's DACA decision
Apple, Google and Facebook are just a few major players in the tech industry that have signed a letter urging President Donald Trump to continue the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.But...
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If you're drinking tap water, you're consuming plastic pollutants
Microscopic plastic fibers are pouring out of household faucets from New York to Delhi, according to original research by Orb Media, a nonprofit digital newsroom in Washington, DC.Working with...
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Hurricane Irma makes landfall on a destructive path across the Caribbean
Hurricane Irma slammed into the Caribbean islands of Saint Barthelemy and Saint Martin on Wednesday. Earlier, the powerful hurricane made landfall on Barbuda as it barreled its way across the...
View ArticleWith Hurricane Irma bearing down, Cuba and Haiti prepare for the worst
Hurricane Irma — one of the strongest storms ever recorded in the Atlantic — is hurtling through the Caribbean and headed for Haiti and Cuba, and then early next week on track to land in Florida and...
View ArticleHurricanes, cyclones and typhoons: Tropical storms are dangerous by any name
No matter what they are called — hurricanes, cyclones or typhoons — the giant tropical storms that form in oceans near the Americas and Asia can be deadly, destructive and terrifyingly capricious.Even...
View ArticleIs the 1-2 punch of Harvey and Irma due to nature — or climate change? Yes.
Another week, another Atlantic storm that weather watchers are calling "unprecedented."Hurricane Irma slammed into the eastern Caribbean and Puerto Rico with 185 mph winds on Wednesday while millions...
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Hurricane Irma — the most enduring super-storm on record — continues on...
With sustained winds at 183 miles per hour for more than 33 hours, France's national weather service said Thursday that Hurricane Irma is now it the longest-lasting, top-intensity cyclone ever...
View ArticleHurricane Irma leaves Dutch St. Martin 'unreachable'
Hurricane Irma has caused "huge damage" to St. Martin, devastating its airport and port and leaving the Dutch part of the Caribbean island unreachable, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said...
View ArticleDancing with the scientists
Dance Your PhD is an annual competition that challenges doctoral students in science to explain their research findings through choreography. Each year, dozens of young scientists submit videos of...
View ArticleAparna Nancherla’s failed science career
Aparna Nancherla is a comedian who has appeared on “Inside Amy Schumer” and written for “Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell” and “Late Night with Seth Meyers.” She was also a smart kid in high school.At...
View ArticleIrma rips through the Caribbean, with a wallop to the US Virgin Islands
You can't miss the dire headlines, warning of Hurricane Irma's perilous journey toward Florida and the US eastern seaboard.Far less attention, however, is focusing on the fact that the deadly storm has...
View ArticleRussia-linked Facebook accounts stoked US election divisions
Facebook said Wednesday an internal review showed that hundreds of Russia-linked fake accounts were used to buy ads aimed at inflaming political tensions ahead of and following the 2016 US presidential...
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At least 15 are dead as a powerful earthquake strikes Mexico
A powerful 8.2 earthquake hit Mexico on Thursday, offshore in the Pacific at 11:49 p.m., about 60 miles from the coastal town of Tonala, in far southern Chiapas state, Mexico's seismologic service...
View ArticleFloridians are running out of time to evacuate before Irma roars ashore
Time is running out for people living in Florida and coastal areas of the southeastern United States to escape the wrath of Hurricane Irma as it barrels toward Miami, officials said Friday.Hurricane...
View ArticleOnly halfway through, hurricane season in 2017 is breaking all kinds of records
Not even halfway into the 2017 hurricane season, and before Irma makes landfall in Florida, tropical mega-storms in the Atlantic basin have already broken several records and challenged others, experts...
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