Science News

Dividing and recombining atoms as they fall down a 110 metre-tall tower could help create a quantum theory of gravity

Spotted near airforce bases, these curious painted asphalt patterns are Cold War artifacts.

Spotted near airforce bases, these curious painted asphalt patterns are Cold War artifacts.

The polystyrene Petri dishes often used in IVF may react with water to generate reactive oxygen species that kill sperm

In an exclusive interview, the comedian turned politician reveals how celebrating science and technology in his comedy act launched his political career

Backed by multi-millionaire space tourist Dennis Tito, the project plans to send two people on a fly-by of the Red Planet on a 501-day round trip

All the latest stories on newscientist.com, including: Neanderthals were no Picassos, private mission to Mars, Beppe Grillo, climate tipping point, and more

A record low in Arctic sea ice may have been the first in a series of events that unleash unstoppable climate changes - what will be next? (full text available to subscribers)

Which means we're one step closer to robotic exoskeletons. Hop aboard. We've been following the HAL robotic suit for a while now, and for good reason: Look at that thing! That looks like the future right there. And now i...

Moving things: not as simple as it sounds. Robots are all thumbs. The human hand is remarkably complex, and although we've seen some interesting attempts at replicating it, we're not quite there yet. Instead, some engine...

Watch how firefighters can now see activity hidden behind flames for the first time thanks to infrared holography

Neanderthals had shorter childhoods than us, which profoundly affected their ability to make symbolic art, argues archaeologist April Nowell (full text available to subscribers)

Project Sunshine by Steve McKevitt and Tony Ryan shows the great promise of solar power, but time is running out for its advocates to make it shine

Still dutifully taking your antioxidants in order to fend off cancer, heart disease, or to maintain a healthy, lucid mind? If you answered yes to number three, you may be wasting your time. According to a new study, diet...

Five days after launch on Kickstarter, the 3Doodler 3D printing pen boasted over 21,000 backers and $1.9 million in pledges. Their goal was $30,000! What's so special about the 3Doodler? If nothing else, it rivals the lo...

In a victory for open access, the US government has announced that all major federally funded research will be made available online for anyone to read

A well-known security scheme that asks you to enter certain letters from your password may not be as secure as it seems

Why are we still debating this? Shouldn't it have been settled long ago? The American Psychological Association explains why the debate is so difficult--and whose fault that is. A report in the American Psychological Ass...

Toxic waste from nuclear bomb production is leaking from storage tanks at the Hanford nuclear waste site in Washington, contaminating groundwater

Curiosity's discovery of weird soil chemistry on the Red Planet makes a sample return mission a priority

The icy visitor will cross Mars' orbit and may even get close enough to smack into the planet, based on early estimates of its orbital path

Defense Distributed's new demonstration of their improved 3-D printed gun with a large capacity magazine seems designed to confound--and throw a middle finger to--Congress, which is trying to ban high-capacity magazines....