Science News

Lithium is a metal used in manufacturing, electronics and mental health.

It can't quite handle bare flesh, though: not reflective enough. A team of physicists from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh has developed laser technology that can 3-D image an object up to a kilometer away. The syste...

One entry to an international design competition imagines a way to turn impromptu meals into standard recipes. Whenever I call my mom to ask how to make something, I always get really vague advice like, "Cook it until it...

All the latest stories on newscientist.com, including: the hunt for alien megaprojects, what North Korea could hit, big penises, and more

Recent headlines are humming over the booming digital currency Bitcoin--it's either the next big thing or the digital equivalent of Tulipomania. Either way, there's no debating the fact Bitcoin's on a wild ride.

It's tough to send a crewed mission to an asteroid, so the US 2014 budget proposals will include funds to tow a space rock closer in - into lunar orbit

A California-based company wants to take the guesswork out of the rhetorical question, "Did I drink too much to drive?" The Breathometer is a small $20 device that plugs into a smartphone's audio jack, much the way that ...

Trends spotted at the 2013 Sea-Air-Space Exposition The Sea-Air-Space Exposition opened in Maryland yesterday. It is one of the U.S. defense industry's largest trade shows--a place where government agencies and private-s...

With scans for alien radio signals drawing a blank, three teams are now searching for signs of extraterrestrial engineering, as Stephen Battersby reports (full text available to subscribers)

The best defense is a good offense, unless you have lasers, in which case the best defense is lasers. One of the U.S. Navy's oldest ships is about to get a lot more futuristic, thanks to a laser. The Navy plans to retrof...

Robots, railguns, and... a Guinness World Record holder?

Robots, railguns, and... a Guinness World Record holder?

On an epic two-year journey across the Pacific, a bait box in a Japanese boat turned into an aquarium when five striped beakfish made it their home

Blurring the lines between man and machine with electronic implants

Watch how a new material can tune its properties, going from slippery to rough while changing colour

With Pyongyang possibly planning a ballistic missile test, we assess the threat from North Korea's arsenal of rockets

Two opposing strategies for dealing with the stress of modern life have been put forward by Dana Becker and Marc Shoen, but which is best?

Sustainable architect William McDonough is recording every aspect of his working life for a comprehensive digital archive launched by Stanford University

Facts about the element helium, including properties, sources, uses and isotopes.

A $30 ride made of recycled packaging, bottles, and car parts. One day in 2009, Israeli engineer Izhar Gafni sat in a quiet library designing a machine to extract seeds from pomegranates when his mind drifted to cycling,...

A homebuilt airplane designed with maximum efficiency in mind. John McGinnis thinks ordinary families would rather skip the airport and fly themselves. So he is trying to reinvent the personal airplane with the help of h...