Science News

For cat lovers, there are few sounds as precious as a beloved feline's purr. The purr is often interpreted as a sign of contentment, but the real reasons for this vocalization are a bit more complicated.

Biologists study jaguars by getting them to approach remote camera traps in the jungle. The product used to attract them may surprise you.

At the Drones and Aerial Robotics conference in New York City this morning, aerial robotics postdoc Sergie Lupashin demonstrated a drone on a leash. The drone, which he calls the Fotokite, acts like a steadicam and does ...

While the current salmonella outbreak may have people concerned about eating chicken, experts point out that raw meat products always carry risk.

Photoreceptors produce harmful compounds that contribute to retinal degeneration.

Treating jaundiced babies with a rig of blue LEDs embedded in a reflective tent could be a boon for treating the debilitating condition in developing countries     

Caufield Novelty's take on an Einstein Costume We've blogged about physics Halloween costumes in the past, but too late to help anyone come up with ideas in time to actually celebrate the greatest holiday of the year. We...

    

Google has revealed that its wearable computer will in part be powered by D-Wave technology, although the true quantum nature of the feat remains unclear     

All the latest on newscientist.com: theories of everything – what good are they? the future of 3D printing, life with a purpose, here be dragons and more     

The OPCW in 2007 The Nobel Committee announced today that this year's Nobel Peace Prize will go to a group few outside the world of international security have heard of: the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical W...

Editor’s note: The following is the introduction to a special e-publication called Our Solar System (click the link to see a table of contents). Published earlier this year, the collection... --

Computers are excellent at crunching numbers, looking for words, following a logical set of instructions. But our machines are still highly literal beasts. The subtleties of human emotion largely escape them. Which is wh...

History tells us that we will gain from the search for ultimate truth - just not what we expected, says MacGregor Campbell (full text available to subscribers)     

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has won this year's Nobel peace prize for its 'extensive efforts to eliminate chemical weapons'     

Modern particle accelerators measure up to several kilometres in size and cost billions of euros. But thanks to a new method they could shrink to less than 10 metres and cost 10 times less in future. To this end, physici...

Artificial materials containing arrays of metal nanostructures can interact with light in useful and interesting ways. One of the most interesting possible uses of such 'metamaterials' is to bend light around objects, re...

The fastest-ever spacecraft recently sling-shotted around Earth on its way to Jupiter

Pork pie MRI, cement rain, excessive toothpaste consumption and more (full text available to subscribers)     

On-demand organs, Terminator-style arms and aviation nostalgia - the best of 3D printing is on show at London's Science Museum     

They don't have wings or breathe fire, but these iguanas in Costa Rica are surely the closest thing we have to dragons     

(Massachusetts Institute of Technology) New study shows that research investments and growing markets have fueled a huge rise in new patents.