Science News

Numerous fossils make this one of the most-studied dinosaurs.

Lidar mapping unveils one of the Bay Area's best places to visit the San Andreas fault.

The Knifefish, an unmanned underwater vehicle, should be hunting for mines by 2017. Soon, dolphins and sea lions won't be hunting mines any more. The U.S. Navy is phasing out the Marine Mammal Program. Though trained sea...

This material category actually holds two world records. If you're an avid PopSci reader, you already know about these materials. Northwestern University researchers designed two Metal Organic Framework materials (MOF) t...

With wrinkled crust and cracked filling, the unusual formations are unlike anything seen on other rocky planets

All today's stories on newscientist.com, including: the evolution of good and evil, a lonely planet among stellar outcasts, abortion and conscience, and more

The recent death of a woman in Ireland after allegedly being refused an abortion highlights the ethical case for the procedure, says a US obstetrician

"The plot is hysterical in both senses of the word, at the same time. Things are always happening, and there is always a blast door that must be shut on penalty of galactic holocaust, and there is a guy with evil intenti...

A worldwide weather simulation reveals a stunning high-resolution view of the aerosols that envelop our planet

Think you could tell the story of the human race in only 100 pictures? That’s the challenge that MIT resident artist Trevor Paglen tackled when he conceived The Last Pictures five years ago. The goal of the pro...

Citizens of Kansas City who signed up for Google Fiber are about to see how fast online access can be with the company’s new fiber-optic infrastructure. The company, which started home installations recently, has ...

An odd object drifting with a small caravan of stars may be the closest known orphan planet

CourseSmart plans to track how students read. It'll even determine their "engagement" in reading. Boy we're glad we aren't in school any more. Digital textbooks seem like they should be a boon to students. They all fit o...

Of the 2,500 Best of What’s New winners we’ve anointed since 1988, these are the innovations that have made the greatest impact and kept us safer, healthier, and (dare we way) happier than we could have eve...

A bold move by two US states to legalise cannabis may mark the beginning of the end of a counterproductive war on drugs

Might the same forces have driven the evolution of our best and worst natures, asks Kate Douglas (full text available to subscribers)

Applying cognitive science to the masks used in ancient Greek theatre sheds light on the classical mind

Researchers hailing the Californian vote against proposals for mandatory labelling of genetically modified food are missing the bigger picture, says Michael Le Page

A new breed of voting forecasters won't replace pundits but elections of the future could be won by the party with the best stats

How much will Earth warm this century? A study has narrowed the range of likely temperatures

The lab-built material focuses radio waves better than anything that occurs in nature. When nature's materials can't do the job scientists want done, it's time to head into the lab and get creative. That means entering t...

Neuroscientists have mixed up music from two types of scan to create the brain's most human-sounding performance yet. Hear it here