Laser-like focus on a tiny, unimportant detail can mean you miss the gorilla in the room – a tactic climate change deniers use to cast doubt on the science.
You might think you're anonymous when you're browsing the web. But a new study shows that browsing history can often be tied to your real-world identity.
In the wake of the Flint water crisis and with a new notably anti-science president, U.S. scientists are reevaluating how to navigate the tension between speaking out and a fear of losing research funding.
Are we headed to a magnetic reversal and all the global disruption that would bring? Enter archaeomagnetism. A look at the archaeological record in southern Africa provides some clues.
A scientific breakthrough in a vacuum may be free of ethical implications. But many developments can be used for good or evil, or both. There's a fine balance on what to control and to what extent.
Cyberdetectives look for digital doors or windows left unlocked, find electronic footprints in the dirt and examine malicious software for clues about who broke in, what they took and why.
Alexis Noel, Georgia Institute of Technology and David Hu, Georgia Institute of Technology
How do a frog's tongue and saliva work together to be sticky enough to lift 1.4 times the animal's body weight? Painstaking lab work found their spit switches between two distinct phases to nab prey.
John Carrier, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The problems that cause us to be so frustrated we contemplate throwing a computer can be much more serious than a multimillionaire football coach having a minor tantrum on a Sunday afternoon.
Governments, academic institutions and private companies are all spending millions of dollars. But the most effective solutions to the cybersecurity labor shortage will not be found individually.
Together, three recent events mark a crucial turning point in the development of autonomous cars: They are both safer and more advanced than ever before.
Get a taste of a drone-enabled future by looking at innovations and explorations from researchers, students and employees at one of the nation's largest university systems.
As technology advances, tiny satellites no bigger than a loaf of bread have advanced from just proving they work to being big contributors in answering science questions.
People have always known science would advance faster with various incentives and rewards. As modern experimental science took off, these took the form of gifts and favors to and from wealthy elites.
As a Jesuit, Pope Francis is part of a long tradition of religious men of science. Will his leadership influence the Catholic Church's stance on contemporary scientific issues?
Gaming is a way to connect to family members. Those relationships can improve mental and physical well-being, in addition to creating meaningful personal bonds.
Does including torture or other human rights violations in video games trivialize the actions? Or might it force us to think more critically about them?
We recently set up a Foldit competition between gamers, undergraduate students and professional scientists. The winner might surprise you – and offer important possibilities for scientific research.
Virtually every researcher relies on computers to collect or analyze data. But when computers are opaque black boxes that manipulate data, it's impossible to replicate studies – a core value for science.
Data centers are taking over the factories where workers once processed checks, baked bread and printed Bibles. What will the rise of the information-based economy mean for American cities?
Back in the early 1900s, if you felt a bit sluggish you could reach for a beverage enhanced with radioactive elements to really add some pep to your step. It wouldn't be a healthy choice, though.
Arun Vishwanath, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
Despite years of public information efforts, even simple cyberattacks still succeed. Here are five steps to avoiding having your emails appear on WikiLeaks.
Letters from would-be girl astronauts in the 1960s tell part of the complicated story of sexism – in both NASA and the US at large – at the dawn of the space age.
William Powell, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
Adding a single wheat gene helps the American chestnut withstand a fungal pathogen that nearly wiped these hardwood trees out of the eastern forests they once dominated.
Slow, lazy, stupid? It's time to update your impression of the crocodilians. These animals are up to amazing things that we're only beginning to observe and recognize.
Regulations, funding and public opinion around genetically enhancing future generations vary from country to country. Here's why China may be poised to be the pioneer.
Mine communications are complex, slow and unreliable. The solution to keeping miners safe, and rescuing them when disaster strikes, might just be in their hands already.
There are technological ways to hide a planet from intergalactic detection – as well as ways to signal that we're just sitting here, eager for contact.
The Conversation relies on university, foundation and reader support. If you would like to help us have even better conversations, then you may like to make a one-off or on-going donation.