Why we should not know our own passwords
As searches of smartphones and other digital devices at US borders become more common, can research and computer science help protect travelers' privacy?
Academic rigor, journalistic flair
Analysis and Comment
Life on Earth is used to gravity – so what happens to our cells and tissues in space?
Every moment of life on our planet has had the force of gravity in the background. But the prospect of long-distance space travel means it's time to figure out what happens to our biology in its absence.
The WikiLeaks CIA release: When will we learn?
The latest release from WikiLeaks, of information about CIA hacking efforts, is yet another reminder of how Americans and our government must better protect our secret information.
Scientific theories aren’t mere conjecture – to survive they must work
In science, the word 'theory' has a very specific meaning that's easy for nonscientists to misunderstand or misconstrue. Here's what a theory must withstand to be accepted by the scientific community.
What fax machines can teach us about electric cars
Standards, like electrical plugs, are usually so simple we don't even really notice them. But they're extremely important: Good ones can drive innovation; bad ones can stifle growth.
Communicating climate change: Focus on the framing, not just the facts
Are we in a race against climate change? Or is it a war? How does thinking of the past or the future affect your support for the science? Researchers are learning how metaphors and context matter.
America’s broadband market needs more competition
World-class fiber-based internet service is available in less than a quarter of Los Angeles County. By contrast, it's almost ubiquitous in Stockholm and Paris.
Tooth be told: Millions of years of evolutionary history mark those molars
Anthropologists gather clues about how our ancient ancestors lived from their teeth. What will future anthropologists make of us based on the fossilized pearly whites we'll leave behind?
Our experiments taught us why people troll
You might think that trolling on the internet is done by a small, vocal minority of sociopaths. But what if all trolls aren’t born trolls? What if they are ordinary people like you and me?
‘Alternative facts’: A psychiatrist’s guide to twisted relationships to truth
Alternate realities don't just exist in politics – and not all falsehoods are lies. Distortions of the truth can range from a normal part of human nature to pathological.
Reprintable paper becomes a reality
Coating paper with an inexpensive thin film can allow users to print and erase a physical page as many as 80 times. That reduces both the cost and the environmental effects of paper use.
Explainer: what is VX nerve agent and how does it work?
Malaysian police have identified a chemical the could have led to the death of the North Korean leader's half brother as the deadly VX nerve agent.
Safe and ethical ways to edit the human genome
A new report from the National Academies of Science and Medicine outlines conditions that have to be met before gene editing that results in heritable genomic changes can be considered.
Cybersecurity of the power grid: A growing challenge
The power grid is increasingly computerized. That opens it to attacks and requires new defenses.
California’s rain may shed light on new questions about what causes earthquakes
Can California's wet weather make earthquakes more likely? Scientists are still learning about what triggers these events. Even human activity can be a culprit.
Seven Earth-sized planets discovered orbiting a nearby star
Broadband internet can help rural communities connect – if they use it
More lessons from Dolly the sheep: Is a clone really born at age zero?
20 years after Dolly: Everything you always wanted to know about the cloned sheep and what came next
How governments and companies can prevent the next insider attack
Building privacy right into software code
History of science
Before Nobels: Gifts to and from rich patrons were early science’s currency
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.
Jesuits as science missionaries for the Catholic Church
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?
The most influential scientist you may never have heard of
Gaze at Alexander Von Humboldt’s 1814 self-portrait and you peer into the eyes of a man who sought to see and understand everything.
Gaming
Family matters: how video games help successful aging
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.
Playing at torture, a not so trivial pursuit
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?
Play video games, advance science
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.
Doing science
How computers broke science – and what we can do to fix it
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.
Research and Expert Database
Editors’ Picks
Why do groundhogs emerge on February 2 if it’s not to predict the weather?
It's all about mating success.
Is Google’s eagerness to answer questions promoting more falsehood online?
When a search query is loaded with implicit false assumptions, Google's results don't always promote the truth.
The factories of the past are turning into the data centers of the future
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?
When ‘energy’ drinks actually contained radioactive energy
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.
‘Spearphishing’ roiled the presidential campaign – here’s how to protect yourself
Despite years of public information efforts, even simple cyberattacks still succeed. Here are five steps to avoiding having your emails appear on WikiLeaks.
‘Even though I am a girl…’: John Glenn’s fan mail and sexism in the early space program
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.
New genetically engineered American chestnut will help restore the decimated, iconic tree
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.
The unknown crocodiles
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.
Protect your privacy during turbulent times: A hacker’s guide to being cyber-safe
People who think like hackers have some really good ideas about how to protect digital privacy during turbulent times. We can learn from them.
The future of genetic enhancement is not in the West
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.
What happens when LIGO texts you to say it’s detected one of Einstein’s predicted gravitational waves
Here's a LIGO insider's description of how he got the news of a phenomenon that had first been theorized 100 years ago.
Deep underground, smartphones can save miners’ lives
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.
How could we build an invisibility cloak to hide Earth from an alien civilization?
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.
Most Read past week
- ‘Alternative facts’: A psychiatrist’s guide to twisted relationships to truth
- Tooth be told: Millions of years of evolutionary history mark those molars
- Our experiments taught us why people troll
- What fax machines can teach us about electric cars
- Communicating climate change: Focus on the framing, not just the facts
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