Science News

THE science of synthetic biology took an important step forward this week with the announcement in Science, by a team from Jef Boeke's laboratory at Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore, of the first completely synthet...

Light speed is no limit in the quantum world - so why can't we exploit that freedom? Perhaps because we're living in the dead husk of a richer cosmos (full text available to subscribers)     

Light waves can be defined by three fundamental characteristics: their color (or wavelength), polarization, and direction. While it has long been possible to selectively filter light according to its color or polarizatio...

Peripheral neuropathy (often referred to simply as "neuropathy") refers to any condition that damages or disrupts nerves in the peripheral nervous system.

Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska Aurora Borealis over Alaskan Air Force Base Joshua Strang for USAF, via Wikimedia Commons Here's a roundup of the week's top drone news, designed to capture the military, commercial, non-pr...

The Expedition 39 crew launched to the International Space Station, aboard the Soyuz TMA-12M spacecraft, on Tuesday. NASA will provide a live stream of the ISS docking as well as the hatch opening. The coverage begins at...

What smells like beer, tastes like carbonated vinegar and looks like something you forgot in the back of the refrigerator? Why, kombucha tea, of course!

If Earth's ostensible twin is out there, it might be a lifeless rock – dead worlds can build up oxygen in their atmospheres as well as living ones     

When a tornado hits, preparation plays a big role in you chances of survival.

Considering a wearable activity tracker? Or looking to upgrade one? Here's what to look for, what to be wary of, and what you might not have thought through. Live Science / Tom's Guide writers' offer practical advice, ba...

As spring arrives -- albeit slowly -- East Coasters are saying goodbye a to an especially punishing winter. Those feeling sentimental can relive the endless series of snowstorms and fiendishly cold weather in a new time-...

A future computer might be a lot slimier than the solid silicon devices we have today. In a study published in the journal Materials Today, European researchers reveal details of logic units built using living slime mold...

Injections of growth hormone -- a staple of anti-aging, hormone-replacement therapy -- may have the opposite effect as intended, thwarting a person's quest to live to an advanced age, a new study suggests.

A time-lapse video, stitched together with imagery from NOAA's GOES-East satellite, shows the movement of winter storms over the eastern United States from January 1 to March 24, 2014.

Six big glaciers in West Antarctica are flowing much faster than 40 years ago.

Building an entirely synthetic yeast chromosome could allow the microbes to make useful molecules like drugs that are not found in nature     

Vaccines cut the risk of life-threatening influenza in children by three quarters during the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 flu seasons in the United States, a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found...

Newly standardised figures let us measure global migration rates at last - and they have been flat for 20 years, says population researcher Nikola Sander     

A chunk of the genetic blueprint for yeast has been created and pieced together from scratch, paving the way for "designer" organisms that could produce new vaccines, foods and biofuels, the creators say.

By editing its DNA sequence on a computer, scientists modified a eukaryotic yeast cell.

A material that filters visible light according to its direction of travel could make it easier to photograph faint objects     

This unfortunate humpback whale swam all the way from Alaska to Hawaii tangled in fishing gear – but its stress has taught us a lot about whale health