Science News

It's rare that the deadly virus that causes Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) spreads from camels to people, a new study says.

People whose blood type is A, B or AB have an increased risk of heart disease and shorter life spans than people who have type O blood, according to a new study.

DNA molecules provide the "source code" for life in humans, plants, animals and some microbes. But now researchers report an initial study showing that the strands can also act as a glue to hold together 3-D-printed mate...

Fear of water may seem like an irrational hindrance to humans, but on a molecular level, it lends order to the world.

Tommy Caldwell (second from left) and Kevin Jorgeson (fourth from left) celebrating their climb of Dawn Wall yesterday afternoon. Credit: Peter Stevens via flickr Yesterday afternoon in Yosemite National Park, rock climb...

Stereotypes hold that women can't be geniuses, and this might explain why women are underrepresented in certain academic fields, in which people believe natural talent is the most important factor for success.

Princeton University researchers have built a rice grain-sized laser powered by single electrons tunneling through artificial atoms known as quantum dots. The tiny microwave laser, or "maser," is a demonstration of the f...

Every year, flocks of geese migrate hundreds of miles over the Himalayas, from their breeding grounds in Mongolia to Southeastern Tibet or India for the winter. Now, a new study reveals how these maverick aviators fly so...

Superconductors made of copper-oxide ceramics called cuprates are capable of conducting electricity without resistance at record-high temperatures--but still only at about one-third of room temperature. They also require...

A polymer usually found in babies' nappies can puff cells up, acting like an ultra-zoom lens and bringing nanoscale features into focus with standard microscopes

They're well adapted high-flyers, but instead of staying straight and level at lofty altitudes, migrating geese save energy by flying up peaks and down valleys

This year's flu vaccine is not very effective at preventing the flu, particularly among adults, according to new estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A new insight into the fundamental mechanics of the movement of molecules recently published by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) offers a surprising view of what happens when you p...

Sugars may form in the types of ice found in deep space -- a finding that could help to explain how comets and meteorites could have seeded the primordial Earth with key ingredients for life.

All the latest on newscientist.com: inverting the process of evolution, galactic zombies, algorithm for the luck of love, pope hope, robot scribe and more

Female sea turtles, known to swim thousands of miles before returning to their birthplace to lay eggs, find their way home by relying on unique magnetic signatures along the coast, a new study finds.

The stress of being around a stranger can dampen people's ability to feel their pain, new research shows.

The handheld computers we carry in our pockets represent almost unimaginable complexity. Batteries, sensors, chips, circuits, and touch displays in a space age shell, all painstakingly assembled by thousands of workers a...

Social media and other technologies might help lower stress, but not for everybody.

Previous research has already demonstrated that substantial quantities of self-motile or active agents such as bacteria in a fluid environment can be harnessed to do mechanical work like moving microscopic gears and ratc...

HERE'S a brainteaser: a driver with a cargo of birds approaches a bridge with a limit of 5,000kg. His lorry weighs 4,800kg and his load 400kg. The driver then has an idea: he strikes the side of the lorry, frightening th...

TIDES ebb and flow but mean sea levels are among the constants of climate science. Though things like the recent slowdown in the rise of average surface temperatures are puzzling, scientists can at least point to higher ...