How should we address growing concerns about information security without denying society the benefits big data can bring?
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The history of displaying exotic animals seems to be one of evolving public expectations about what constitutes acceptable conditions. Is it a case of the more things change, the more they stay the same?
Landslide researchers continue to learn more about how and where these events occur. It’s trickier to figure out how to minimize potential damage to human communities from future landslides.
Quantum dots - minuscule semiconductor particles with specific light-absorption properties - can kill drug-resistant superbugs without harming the surrounding healthy tissue.
After last summer’s Pluto flyby, the New Horizons spacecraft started sending data back to Earth – at 2 kilobits per second. Here’s some of what scientists have learned so far from that rich, slow cache.
Computers are getting better and better at the jobs that previously made sense for researchers to outsource to citizen scientists. But don’t worry: there’s still a role for people in these projects.
You want to pick the ‘favorites,’ to get accuracy points. But you also want to pick some ‘underdogs,’ to set yourself apart from the pack. Somewhere in the middle is an optimal solution.
No wonder you’re always late. Drivers use a route that minimizes travel time on only a third of their trips. Here’s how real-world data can help planners fight traffic congestion.
Reliably predicting whether a tsunami is large enough to require evacuations requires many more observations from the deep ocean than we now have.
Remediation will never get radiation to zero in the area affected by the 2011 meltdown at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant. Rather than safety, the conversation should focus on acceptable risk.
Simply filling out a bracket – even with random or uninformed choices – is enough to boost your confidence in success, and to get you to put more money on the line.
We know pi appears when we talk about circles. But it appears in many other places, too. Why, pi, why?
On the occasion of Pi Day, a look at the history of calculating the actual, and increasingly exact, value of pi (π).
Our data-driven model was able to create a reasonably accurate assessment of justices’ views on issues, predict their alignments on cases and identify who might be a swing vote.
Modern agriculture is synonymous with monoculture. That lack of diversity is bad news for plants’ natural immune defenses. Researchers are figuring out how to help plants fend off microbes – without pesticides.
We’re on the cusp of being able to consistently launch and land rockets, greatly reducing the cost of space travel. But how long before there’s a Millennium Falcon in every garage?
The relationship between social science research and advocates and policymakers is undermined if they cherry-pick evidence that supports their goals, ignoring the wider field.
As we reach the limits of what can be done with silicon, the search for new and improved superconductors is on.
Crews patch them, just to see these recurrent potholes come back again. New research focuses on microwaves zapping patches to make a more permanent pothole fix.
On printed maps, piling on the detail risks obscuring the meaning. This new digital map is really more of a database from which users can create different versions that match their own interests.
The Democrats’ policy platforms address the fundamental issue of Internet haves and have-nots in the U.S. But research suggests just hooking people up to broadband won’t solve the problem.
Opposition inspires more confidence in one’s position than support and also helps to turn judgments into actions. This helps explain why attack ads are a crucial tool in politicians’ arsenals.
As 3D printing gets cheaper and easier to use, what might children - the next generation of innovators - make?
The court order to Apple is consistent with the existing law and previous Supreme Court decisions.
We are beginning to be able to control very precisely how light interacts with matter, creating opportunities for invisibility, soundproofing and even earthquake damage prevention.