What are research dollars actually spent on? Rather than looking at artifacts like publications and patents, a new initiative directly tracks the people and businesses that receive research funding.
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Science + Tech – Articles, Analysis, Opinion
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Today, the U.S. is leading the robotics revolution. But without timely investment, China will overtake us, and could permanently put Americans out of work.
As the Trump administration settles into office, regulators and lawmakers have big plans for shifting the country’s media landscape, with potentially profound effects on the public.
Algorithms can have enormous consequences on people’s lives, yet a federal law prevents us from studying whether they may be biased, unfair or discriminatory.
For 30 years, sports fans have been told to forget about streaks because the ‘hot hand’ is a fallacy. But a reanalysis says not so fast: Statistics show players really are in the zone sometimes.
Astronomers are surprised by what they’re finding out about galaxies that formed in the early days of our universe, now that sensitive telescopes allow direct observation, not the inference of old.
Taking the placenta as a case study, researchers are able to piece together how new organs evolve, by repurposing old tissues and using them to do new jobs.
Even as text-message two-factor authentication is just starting to become common, a newer method, a return to the era of the physical key, is nipping at its heels.
Research on molecular machines won last year’s Nobel Prize in chemistry. Now scientists have figured out a way to get these tiny molecules to join forces and collaborate on real work on a macro scale.
A revolution in the tools and techniques developmental psychologists use to investigate kids’ knowledge and capabilities is rewriting what we know about how and when children understand their world.
A strengthening movement of Indigenous designers and developers is working to show Indigenous cultures, teachings, languages and ways of knowing through video games.
New standards and regulations are beginning to govern how companies protect customers’ data. Companies ignore this vital issue at their peril, both financially and legally.
How can the same basic genome produce such different forms in the two sexes of a single species? It turns out one gene can encode for various things, depending on the order its instructions are read.
The Tor Project is upgrading its protections for internet users’ privacy and anonymity. A scholar and volunteer member of the nonprofit effort explains what’s changing and why.
The technical consensus is clear: Adding ‘backdoors’ to encryption algorithms weakens everyone’s security. So what are the police and intelligence agencies to do?
Today’s radical right is remaking its profile, using online communications to spread its message farther and deeper into our society than ever possible before.
Every year, school districts across the U.S. try to plan out a bus schedule that works for all students while keeping costs and emissions low. Our mathematical models can help.
It’s been five decades of microwave popcorn and piping hot leftovers in home kitchens. A serendipitous discovery helped engineers harness radar to create this now ubiquitous timesaving appliance.
A European Union law will require human-understandable explanations for algorithms’ decisions. A team of researchers has found a way to provide that, even for complex calculations.
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.
As searches of smartphones and other digital devices at US borders become more common, can research and computer science help protect travelers’ privacy?
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.
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.
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.
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.