Surprising Science

Half of the city’s “coffee shops” have closed down and an estimated 400 people have been put out of work since a law restricting marijuana purchases to Dutch citizens took effect.

This year’s Kumbh Mela, a Hindu festival, is expected to draw between 30 and 60 million pilgrims to the Indian city of Allahabad. Teams from disparate Harvard schools will be there to take data.

Evolutionary psychology has proven a powerful theory in explaining behavioral differences between men and women in terms of natural selection, but challenges to the idea have emerged.

RIP Aaron Swartz, you will not be forgotten. 

A team of scientists at Manchester University, UK, have created a microscope machine capable of building proteins similar to ones found naturally in the body’s many cells.

A group of economists seeking to better understand the American aversion to flu vaccines, and the subsequent outbreak of flu, have created a computer game to model patient behavior. 

The world’s religions have long preached that fasting is good for the soul, and now modern science, which generally locates the soul in the mind, says fasting guards against mental disease.

The world could produce 60 to 100% more food by simply eliminating losses, while simultaneously freeing up land, energy and water resources for other use, says a new report from England.

Not only do they tell you to slow down — by means of changing colors — they can even communicate with your friends via a text message if you won’t pay attention.

Next week, artist Adam Harvey will exhibit a line of clothing that he says will protect its wearer from invasive surveillance technology.

Every year since 1967, the world’s technology companies gather at the International Consumer Electronics Show to exhibit the latest flashy products they’ve been working on. For the tech nuts who […]

One of the hits at this week’s Consumer Electronics Show, the device is a flexible high-resolution tablet that feels, and in some ways acts, like a piece of paper.

Despite being the most successful Kickstarter project to date, rollout of the smartwatch was beset by development delays. The first units should begin shipping later this month.

As a possible solution to the problem of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, researchers in Germany have created a prototype of a garment with sensors integrated into the fabric.

Flower Power is a sensor that, when inserted into a plant’s pot, monitors its health and sends information, including alerts, to a smartphone or tablet.

Announced this Monday, the possible planet is just one of 461 new candidates, out of a total of over 2,700, located by NASA’s Kepler space telescope since its 2009 launch.

Researchers report that the easily-created material could help clean up contaminated nuclear sites, cut hydraulic fracturing costs, and reinvigorate mining of rare-earth metals in the US.

Engineers in Japan are working on a car safety system that uses specific imagery to indicate exactly what will happen if the driver doesn’t correct their behavior.

Investors are banking on Ovuline, a company that helps women track their fertility online. They claim that their average user will conceive more quickly than the national average.

The recent gang-rape and subsequent death of a Delhi woman has highlighted not only the problem of public safety, but the solutions some are seeking to protect themselves.

As we age, the brain degenerates. When this occurs, the channels of communication form different pathways, usually unlocking different ways of recalling and expressing memories.

If computers are to interact with humans as other humans do, they will have to learn to be funny, or at least think they are funny. Computer scientists are teaching machines to tell jokes.

A team of scientists have observed that the absence of a specific protein correlated with weight gain, especially when the protein was not present in the body’s stores of brown fat.

The ability to track diverse health metrics is becoming easier and more effective. Some technologists believe amassing data will transform medicine from being reactionary to predictive. 

Government health bodies and family doctors currently treat genetic testing companies with skepticism, but giving patients access to their genetic data is perhaps the best way to improve treatment. 

One of Canada’s foremost authorities on health attempts to address contemporary health concerns with scientific acumen, debunking common myths about nitrates, trans fat, and more…

An Afghan-born designer has created an object that rolls over and detonates land mines using just the power of the wind.

An information security training firm has erected a 6-by-8 foot miniature that mimics an actual town right down to the power systems and the (virtual) inhabitants.

LG announced this week that its 55-inch display is now available for sale in South Korea, and will be available in other countries soon.

The technology allowing you to read this is responsible for approximately two percent of global carbon dioxide emissions yearly. Researchers are developing new and improved models for measuring this output.