Science News

The laser weapon system (LaWS) has been brought online by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and demonstrated aboard the USS Ponce in the Arabian Gulf.

THE "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" lies off the coast of California. But it is not the only place where a system of rotating ocean currents, known as gyres, concentrate floating material, particularly plastic detritus dum...

Growing resistance to drugs in microbes and the rise of "superbugs" could cast medicine "back to the dark ages" and lead to the deaths of over 10 million people by 2050, according to a British government-commissioned rev...

Sprinkling a supplement that contains a compound called propionate on your food could help you avoid weight gain, a new study suggests.

The looming flu season is shaping up to be among the worst in 15 years, according to health officials who say an unforeseen mutation in this season's dominant flu strain could mean more severe illnesses, hospitalizations...

A team of researchers led by North Carolina State University has found that stacking materials that are only one atom thick can create semiconductor junctions that transfer charge efficiently, regardless of whether the c...

Dr. Damon Little, Associate Curator of Bioinformatics in the Cullman Program for Molecular Systematics at The New York Botanical Garden, has just published a new study in the journal Genome investigating the use of DNA b...

A virtual replica of the first complete skull of a mysterious mammal is revealing the structure of its bizarre bones

Single combat, assassination, chemical warfare, even mind control: the Geneva conventions don't apply when fungi go to war (full text available to subscribers)

More than 788,000 Filipinos were stranded in evacuation centers Thursday across central Philippines after Typhoon Hagupit swept through the island nation, damaging nearly 50,000 homes and killing at least 19 and injuring...

Origami is capable of turning a simple sheet of paper into a pretty paper crane, but the principles behind the paper-folding art can also be applied to making a microfluidic device for a blood test, or for storing a sate...

The U.S. Navy announced that its high-tech laser weapon is ready to disable and destroy enemy drones and small boats should the need arise.

A new family tree of the world's bird species may be the most complete one ever made, and reveals some surprising relationships, as well as showing how characteristics such as birdsong evolved.

The entire semiconductor industry, not to mention Silicon Valley, is built on the propensity of electrons in silicon to get kicked out of their atomic shells and become free. These mobile electrons are routed and switche...

An intriguing evolutionary similarity might mean that songbirds will make good models for studying the genetics of speech disorders

Genome analysis of the two Antarctic-breeding penguins reveal the differing fate global warming might have on the iconic emperors and Adélies

Stretched out, our DNA is almost 2 metres long. The way it folds in on itself to fit into our cells is now being mapped – and has been dubbed the loopome

Could there finally be tangible evidence for the existence of dark matter in the Universe? After sifting through reams of X-ray data, scientists in EPFL's Laboratory of Particle Physics and Cosmology (LPPC) and Leiden Un...

An archaeological dig in Iceland shows that Vikings used to host elaborate feasts with beef and beer to improve their political standing.

All the latest on newscientist.com: how to think about everything, Lima climate summit, weird comet water, why US police are so violent and more

Relics from the Soviet Arctic fleet, including 16 nuclear reactors and more than 17,000 waste containers, litter the seabed and could leak at any moment

A video went viral yesterday showing two hikers in Slovakia walking across a frozen lake. What is amazing about this lake is the fact that it froze crystal clear such that the hikers appear to be walking on calm water.In...