Science News

From the stroke of a mother's hand to the embrace of a lover, sensations of gentle touch activate a specialized set of nerves in humans.

Scientists at the Canadian Light Source have announced the first shipment of medical isotopes produced in its dedicated linear accelerator.

A 10-second kiss on the lips can transfer as many as 80 million bacteria into a person's mouth, a new study from The Netherlands finds.

The everyday use of a GPS device might be to find your way around town or even navigate a hiking trail, but for two physicists, the Global Positioning System might be a tool in directly detecting and measuring dark matte...

Breathing in secondhand marijuana smoke may damage the blood vessels just like breathing in secondhand cigarette smoke does, a new study in rats suggests.

Changes in hormonal contraceptive use during a marriage could affect a woman's satisfaction, according to a new study that followed married couples for months to years.

The mystery surrounding a gruesome disease that affects starfish on the Pacific coast might finally be put to rest.

When robots fight in place of soldiers, will wars have fewer civilian casualties? Or will the world slide into non-stop conflict? (full text available to subscribers)

Three lines of evidence suggest a virus is the likely culprit behind a mysterious epidemic ravaging sea stars on North America's Pacific coast

Pavlof volcano, one of Alaska's most active volcanoes, erupted for the second time this year on Saturday (Nov. 15).

Bespoke lighting effects are returning the original colours to five faded masterpieces by artist Mark Rothko at Harvard Art Museums

What if the unseen stuff making up 80 per cent of the universe's matter isn't a weird particle, but cosmic kinks? Then GPS satellites could reveal its effects

An untiring ear when you are out, the Point sensor system will send a message to your smartphone if something sounds off in your home - or if there's a fire

All the latest on newscientist.com: myths and maybes of fat-burning, supercool quantum circuits, gay genes, Philae's hop, skip and jump, and more

Researchers from the University of Southampton have developed a new technique to help produce more reliable and robust next generation photonic chips.

An international team of scientists led by Uppsala University has developed a high-throughput method of imaging biological particles using an X-ray laser. The images show projections of the carboxysome particle, a delica...

About three quarters of parents would consider removing their child from a day care center where some of the other kids were unvaccinated, a new survey found.

The new biopic "The Theory of Everything" documents the personal life of cosmologist Stephen Hawking.

The Leonid meteor shower of 2014 will peak on Monday and Tuesday (Nov. 17 and 18), but don't expect a dazzling celestial light show. Here's what to expect from the Leonids this year.

Where does humor come from in the brain? To find out, team of researchers scanned the brains of professional comedians to identify the brain activity involved in telling jokes.

The biggest study of its kind links gay men's orientation with two regions of the genome picked out previously – suggesting that being gay has some genetic basis

The biggest study of its kind links gay men's orientation with two regions of the genome picked out previously – suggesting that being gay has some genetic basis