Surprising Science

Madrid, Spain, has become the first city to integrate smart pavement into its infrastructure. The technology will offer citizens improved Web access while collecting data on pedestrian flow. 

Can the human mind be explained as a solely material thing? Can a machine ever be conscious?

Scientists from Harvard, Caltech, and the Max Planck Institute have succeeded in keeping a bit of quantum information, or qubit, stable in an artificial diamond for more than a second. 

The European Space Agency has committed to building a new space telescope whose sole purpose will be to unravel the cosmological mysteries of dark matter and dark energy. 

Two European physicists are attempting to explain black holes in the language of quantum mechanics. If successful, they could reconcile competing theories of how gravity works. 

Tropical lakes of methane recently discovered on the surface of Titan hint at subsurface oases, which could produce compounds analogous to proteins and information-carrying molecules. 

China has become just the third nation to dock spacecraft in orbit. The country’s progress in space technology has been rapid despite being excluded from the International Space Station. 

What’s the Big Idea? A Florida teenager will have a bad headache for a while after being shot through the head with a three-foot fishing spear, but doctors expect a […]

There are few in this world who can say they’ve never sat, solemnly, in some sort of traffic. This New York Times article reported that the average American commuter spends a […]

By Rick Popely Someday, personal transportation may be in automated vehicles that drive themselves and run on electricity or an alternative fuel. But for the foreseeable future, most Americans will rely […]

New psychological research shows that people who perform well on intelligence tests are also more likely to give wrong answers on simple questions that test for an awareness of bias. 

Experimental psychologists at the University of Negev, Israel, have found that just three weeks of meditation training helped individuals discover novel solutions to old problems. 

With the cost of healthcare and the rise in cancer screenings, researchers have developed a low-cost way for doctors to prescreen patients for lung and breast cancer.

According to studies, the absence of a very important protein in the body leads to viral infections taking permanent residency in a person’s immune system.  

Researchers conclude that children who were conceived by an older father, who also was conceived by an older father, may live longer. 

What does race mean? It is the lingering question in the discovery of the biology of race. Scientists study the various diseases that affect people of different races; however, it is believed this is not the appropriate route. 

People who eat breakfast daily are least likely to become obese, gain fat around their stomach, or develop type 2 diabetes.

What can be done to stop the unrealistic representation of men’s and women’s bodies by visual and print media? Are government regulation and media literacy classes sufficient? 

A Japanese design studio has created a coordinated artificial organ system that conserves the body’s stores of water, necessitating that humans drink just 0.1 cups of water per day. 

MIT researchers have created a silicon-based chip that uses the body’s own glucose energy to power tiny neural implants, which could help patients recover from spinal cord injuries. 

Humanity is on the threshold of disturbing half of the Earth’s landmass. Scientists say that could represent a crucial tipping point beyond which the planet’s biology would drastically change. 

Seth Shostak, senior astronomer with the SETI Institute, advises Hollywood on the science of extraterrestrials. He says aliens would be vastly stronger than us and far more intelligent. 

What’s the Latest Development? It has become all too common to walk down a busy city street and see the majority of pedestrians glued to their phones and inattentive to […]

Using social media to facilitate communication within corporate structures has become an essential tool for innovation, say 2,700 business executives in a new survey of Europe. 

What is the Big Idea? The energy crisis is one of the greatest economic and social problems of our time. How can greenhouse gas emissions be reduced at a time […]

In a battle to end dengue fever and other tropical diseases, which kill thousands of people and children every year, scientists have biologically altered mosquitoes as a way to ward off the spread of the disease. 

According to earlier studies, having dinner together as a family can help families eat healthier, have meaningful conversation and keep teens from obtaining drug and delinquency problems. However, later studies revealed other factors that have more to do with adolescent issues, which the amount of family dinners had no effect on. 

A case-control study has revealed the first direct evidence that caffeine/coffee intake is related to a lower risk or delayed onset of Alzheimer’s, especially among the people who already have mild cognitive impairment. 

A new test will be able to tell doctors and parents if a fetus contains any unfavorable genetic traits. However, researchers believe the test could lead to terminated pregnancies if parents believed a condition would interfere with a child living a normal life.  

Many young adults are not seeking the medical care they need. When they hear the costs involved for a specific treatment, they stop listening and usually forgo the process due to fear of medical debt.