Orion Jones

In what may be a next step for democracy, a citizen can now propose a new law online, and if enough of their fellow citizens support it, the government has to vote on it.

Surrounding yourself with, and adhering closely to, those who share your opinions leads to difficulty in coherently analyzing today’s political problems. A new study says this is true regardless of your network’s perceived levels of political sophistication.

A recent study of 80,000 Britons showed a correlation between happiness and the number of servings of vegetables they ate.

The cap, which can be worn with or without a helmet, provides LED readouts in green, yellow or red to indicate the seriousness of a hit.

The US military has successfully tested a missile that uses microwaves to target a building’s computers and electrical systems.

A company has started an Indiegogo campaign to bring its Muse wearable headband to market. Writer Stacey Higginbotham describes what has to happen to make this kind of interface a commercial success.

An engineer has created plastics that contain a network of liquid-filled channels. When the plastic cracks, the liquid fills the gap and solidifies, repairing the damage.

Google’s wearable Trekker device will allow its team of explorers to take 360-degree pictures of areas that aren’t reachable by vehicle.

Last week the rocket broke apart in Earth’s orbit, creating a cloud of debris that has observers concerned about its possible impact on other spacecraft in the area.

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission is planning a pilot study of cancer risks near six nuclear power plants, out of suspicions about the dangers of uranium even when the plants are operating normally.

A study investigating the presence of potentially harmful chemicals in the lake has added a new one to its list: sucralose, known commercially as Splenda.

NASA’s new X-ray telescope chanced upon a rare flare-up taking place in the center of the galaxy, home of the Sagittarius A black hole.

A new report documents, for the first time, the public health impact of industrial pollutants on local populations in developing countries.

Songkick, a music promotion site, has added a feature that follows the Kickstarter model to let fans book a tour.

MeetMe’s new Photoboard feature will be tested in more than 500 bars across the US. Users who are within a quarter-mile of a bar can have their picture uploaded in a matter of seconds.

First launched on October 9 and ending later today, this experiment in variable pricing for e-book bundles has made $1.1 million for authors, charities, and the creators of the idea.

A Swedish startup launched a Kickstarter project today to raise money to help bring its “lapel-camera” to market by early next year.

A new report out from the Pew Research Center says that people under the age of 30 are more likely to read and are more likely to use their public library.

With new reforms under Cuba’s President Raul Castro, Cubans will be allowed to leave the country without exit permits, which were expensive and difficult to obtain.

Fellow party members of of Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner are looking to lower the voting age to 16 in order to bolster the country’s youth movement.

A new website, ipaidabribe.or.ke, allows Kenyans to report bribes they have paid in order to help end the cycle of corruption that runs rampant throughout the country.

Companies that help circumvent internet censorship from controlling governments, such as China and Iran, are finding problems in their over-popularity.

A new company is looking to provide sanitation services to areas that need them most and then use human waste as a source of energy.

New neuroscience confirms what we have longed believed to be true: A warm and engaging handshake activates pleasure centers in the brain, overcoming awkward social interactions. 

As the nation’s middle classes loses the financial security it could once take for granted, the psychological state of many families may be falling into constant worry about making ends meet. 

A team of neurologists have begun mapping how individual neurons communicate with each other to perform basic biological functions. Their work may yield new insights on mental health. 

Researches who studied children from low-income neighborhoods from infancy to adolescence have found that educational tools correlate to a specific brain biology. 

When voters are asked to explain the policy positions they claim to support, the complexity of the issues naturally makes them soften of their positions, improving political discourse.

When the nation’s manual on disorders and diseases is updated next May for the first time in 13 years, a new class of people may be diagnosed with having hypersexual disorder, or HD.

A new class of pharmacy, in which drugs are mixed for individual patients, lacks regulation, says the FDA. The practice is a result of higher drug prices and the allure of “personalized medicine.”