Surprising Science

Space weather experts estimate that in the next decade, there is a 12% chance of a solar storm causing major disruptions to our electricity grids, which remain woefully unprepared. 

What is the Big Idea? Nestle, the purveyors of Kit Kat candy bars, is launching a new app that gives social media users a break by posting status updates on […]

China’s rapid urbanization has afforded it the opportunity to build new, environmentally friendly eco-cities. Its efforts may be a model for the rest of the urbanizing world. 

In an attempt to encourage sympathy across the battle lines of ethnic conflicts, neuroscientists are working with the Pentagon to better understand how violence works in the brain. 

Being trained by evolution to avoid confronting your own mortality, your brain may register a feeling of terror to read news articles about death. We have a strong aversion to our fragility.

Scientists have determined that whether or not you like the smell of pork, a large component of how it tastes, is determined by a gene in your DNA. There is a genetic link to the food we like. 

Two previously blind British patients have had partial vision restored by a microchip implanted behind their retinas, indicating to the brain that the eye is receiving light. 

Forget marathons, people. The first 20 minutes of exercise confer all its essential health benefits. Fitness researcher Gretchen Reynolds says you can do anything to get your body moving. 

Using nanotechnology, medical researchers have successfully cloaked anti-cancer drugs so they do not affect the body’s healthy cells. Some patients’ tumors have shrunk greatly during treatment. 

By creating video games that allow non-professionals to diagnosis diseases like malaria, health professionals can reliably turn to the public to help them save time—and lives. 

Michael J. Sandel is the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Government at Harvard University, where he has taught political philosophy since 1980. His recent book, Justice: What’s […]

What is the Big Idea? The United States is ready for terrorist attacks and natural disasters, according to a new report by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). But where […]

If I were asked, “do you believe that human beings evolved millions of years ago from ancestors shared in common with gorillas and chimpanzees?” I would answer emphatically and unequivocally: […]

What’s the Big Idea?  Long-time political activist and self-proclaimed “party crasher”Richard Tafel believes that American democracy is under threat. The environmental, economic, healthcare, and political systems we’ve relied on for decades are […]

While literature has been criticized as a corrupting influence at different points in history, recent research suggests that works of fiction draw out the empathy in us, encouraging justice. 

Perhaps the world’s most modern instrument, engineers and DJs behind the Reactable are sharing their tracks’ layers to make remixing free and easy to anyone who wants to try. 

British scientists have created artificial muscles that mimic the actual muscle of squids, helping researchers create active-camouflage clothing and smart skin to regulate our temperature. 

Not fearing this age’s breakneck technological change, two of the nation’s most prestigious universities are set to offer their classes to anyone in the world with an Internet connection. 

By modifying DNA to pick up on slight chemical variations, and attaching the DNA to carbon nanotubes, scientists want to create an electronic nose that can identify cancers in the body.

What is the Big Idea? It’s not uncommon for a patient to have a conversation with their doctor before a major surgery. But what about talking to a doctor during […]

Our interview with neuroscientist David Eagleman aired live on our site on Monday, April 30th, 2012. In this recap, he discusses his latest book, Incognito: The Secret Lives of the […]

As the world’s largest particle collider reaches higher energy levels, scientists can better understand how the Universe’s constituent particles formed just after the big bang. 

By creating a Space Joint Stock Company, America’s largest energy, defense and technology companies could generate massive cash flows while providing unlimited amounts of clean energy. 

Happstr is a mobile app that allows you to mark geographical locations where you’re feeling happy, and to see others’ “happiness spots” on the map. Happstr challenges users to focus […]

Sonar is a mobile app that lets you know when friends and the friends of your friends are in your vicinity. The app uses information from networks such as Facebook, […]

Developed by NeuroVigil, the iBrain is the first portable brain scanner. Unlike other brain scanners, the iBrain simplifies the number of EEG channels to just one, creating a map of […]

Path is a “smart journal” app for the iPhone and Android. This app is a private social network to share pictures and moments with an intimate circle of friends and […]

Conventional farming practices favor corporate agriculture and are widely considered environmentally unsustainable, but can organic farming feed a world with nine billion people?

Rather than trying to cope with or counteract the cognitive decline that comes naturally with age, neuroscientists say that continuing to live an active and engaged life is the best strategy. 

New psychological research shows that when people are prompted to think analytically, they downplay their belief in supernatural beings like God and angels. Are you a believer?