Surprising Science

‘World Trade Center cough’ and other ailments have afflicted first responders to the scene as well as cleanup crews, residents and workers in the area. The causes and treatments are being studied.  

Evidence that neogenesis—spontaneous regrowth of hair in dormant follicles—is widespread in the animal world has spurred researchers around the globe to look for genetic solutions for baldness.   

More and more jobs are increasingly confined to sitting at a desk all day. This isn’t how it used to be. Americans are burning fewer calories than ever at work—so what can be done?  

A gene responsible for chronic pain has been identified, with scientists saying this could lead to drugs for treating long-lasting back pain. Deleting the gene stopped any chronic pain. 

Heart failure is a known risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease but even in the absence of end-stage heart disease, it’s thought that how the heart pumps may have an effect on brain aging.  

IBM envisages tomorrow’s computer as a big sandwich of silicon chips. It’s teaming up with 3M to develop a special glue that would make the evolutionary leap in computing possible.

A Belgian company is working on mining landfills to remove raw materials and make energy and building materials out of them, and then redevelop the land.

Robots are bad at adapting to new situations, such as recognizing new objects, but researchers have found a way to make them better at figuring things out for themselves. 

The same high-tech magnets used in MRI machines may soon be used to make wind turbines more efficient, thereby generating more clean energy from the wind.

Scientists believe ocean acidification—which is the trend again today—may have played a big role in the Earth’s worst extinction crisis 250 million years ago.

Is fundamental physics too heavy on theory? Jon Butterworth says it’s a hugely worthwhile exercise, unless you are utterly uninterested in understanding how things work.

Severe storms will become the new normal. Ensuring our cities have ubiquitous Wi-Fi, GPS, smart transit, and smart grids would be a smart way to make them more resilient.

The idea of infecting Mars with our germs is not new, but one microbiologist believes the next rover may have a higher chance of becoming a microbe lifeboat. Unlikely but possible.

The U.S. Army is crazy for apps and incoming Chief of Staff Ray Odierno may soon decide whether to require soldiers to carry smartphones as a standard piece of gear. 

It’s easy to see the appeal of the idea that we can put a definitive end to our suffering or grief and start a new chapter of life without sorrow, guilt, or anger. But it just isn’t true. 

What is this thing called self-control? We speak of exerting will power, of forcing ourselves to go to work, of restraining ourselves and of controlling our temper as if it were an unruly dog.

An Italian woman is the latest person to have a murder sentence reduced on the grounds that abnormalities in her brain, and genes, could explain her aberrant behaviour.

Swiss and American researchers have found a way to program cells to determine whether they have become cancerous, and if they have, to order their own suicide.  

A coercive approach to drug treatment has gained wide support in Russia that once involved strapping patients to beds while they undergo the harsh agonies of withdrawal.  

For the first time, researchers have shown viruses can be delivered through a person’s bloodstream to infect cancer cells without infecting other tissues, according to a new study.

As we age, our bodies change in ways that challenge athletic ability. But exercise also can slow down—and in some cases even prevent—some of the physiological ravages of time.

Will we solve the problem of runaway heath costs? Thanks to incentives and disincentives, the next five years will see an unprecedented acceleration of electronic medicine in the U.S.

What was prehistoric human sex like? Most of us conjure “the hackneyed image of the caveman, dragging a dazed woman by her hair with one hand, a club in the other.” Psychologist Christopher Ryan says this image is mistaken in every detail.

By designing new spaces around tablets, smart phones, and social technologies, companies can operate with far fewer desks. That means fewer cubicles and a freer workspace. 

Put your rain sticks away. Scientists have developed a way to summon water droplets out of thin air through the use of lasers which may one day help us control where it rains. 

Burial and cremation are no longer the only ways of putting your loved one to rest. A Scottish company has installed the first ‘alkaline hydrolysis’ unit in a Florida funeral home.

Two new studies propose potential spacecraft missions that would collide with asteroids in an attempt to deflect them away from our planet. Such missions may be our best hope. 

Unless engineers understand why a Russian rocket meant to carry supplies to the International Space Station crashed last week, the station will be empty come November.

After building a simulation, N.A.S.A. scientists think they understand how solar eruptions can trigger other explosions thousands of kilometres away on the other side of the Sun.

A new project organized by search-engine providers Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo promises to improve Semantic Web adoption by building a standard set of data specifications.