Science News

From the 1940s through the 1970s there was no major warming trend in the average surface temperature of Earth. At the same time, the tropical Pacific Ocean, which is responsible for the weather... --

Designed as a joke to help students waste less time online, the Pavlov Poke jolts users with electricity if they spend too much time on certain websites

Mustangs and donkeys that roam across the western states are running out of food, while the agency fighting to help them is running out of options

A new app aims to log every element of your day's movements, even from room to room, to create a framework on which to hang the details of your day

I would like to live in the future where a sticky Roomba army is doing all the dusting. Let's just say this up front: this design concept, for a Roomba-like vacuum army, is pretty out-there. But, man, I want to believe. ...

Air pollution controls mean that the acid rain that devastated forests, ponds and streams in the US has reduced, but left excessive alkalinity in its wake

Tiny human brains made of stem cells can help us understand the early stages of cerebral development, including when things go wrong

Two hulking male lions sit out a rainstorm in a photograph that's in the running for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year award

All the latest on newscientist.com: the race to beat video wipeout, Syrian chemical attack analysed, Yosemite fire, build your own video game, and more

An analysis of tweets shows which areas of New York City were happiest and saddest during a two week period

3-D printed engines could support human missions to deep space. In NASA's latest exploration of combining 3-D printing and space travel, the agency ran tests on the largest ever 3-D printed rocket engine component at the...

On this week's podcast, we used physics to get to the bottom of an old bicycling myth. A bike made out of aluminum isn't guaranteed to give you a rigid, rough ride, while a bike made of steel isn't always going to be smo...

The coolest online photos and documents from the demonstration where Martin Luther King, Jr., gave his "I Have a Dream" speech Fifty years ago today, Martin Luther King, Jr., gave his iconic "I Have a Dream" speech on th...

The taped memories of half a century are failing, and the machines to play them are too. We must act now or lose a huge chunk of 20th-century history (full text available to subscribers)

The most effective response to the nerve gas attacks in Damascus would be to arm the people with antidotes and information

No programming experience? No problem. A host of new tools let anyone create their own video game

Extract of the fruit garcinia cambogia is an ingredient in some nutritional supplements aimed at stopping weight gain. But is garcinia cambogia safe, and does it work? Here's a look at the evidence.

Moving paper away from plastic so you don't have to The most annoying aspect of recycling--and one of the biggest hurdles to its widespread adoption--is having to separate paper, glass, and plastic before they hit the cu...

The aftermath of 1980s chemical attacks in Iraq suggest that thousands of Syrians face decades of sickness - but intervention can still help some

From wind direction to short-range rockets, analysis of the Damascus chemical attack can reveal the poison used, identify suspects and suggest what to do next

Properties, sources and uses of the element mercury.