Surprising Science

Senate Democrats are holding weekend meetings with Obama to eye a public health option that mirrors their own government healthcare package.

Scientists believe that plants like the tomato may have discreet methods to trap small invertebrates for nutrition.

A new study fails to find correlation between increased cell phone use and instances of brain tumors in a Scandinavian sample.

Apple’s purchase of the online music streamer LaLa signals the first major change to the iTunes platform since it revolutionized the music market.

Dr. Joseph Zuckerman,Professor and Chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at NYU’s Hospital for Joint Diseases and 2009 President of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, spoke with us […]

An enzyme in human blood that enables our lungs to exhale carbon dioxide could be “the key to isolation carbon dioxide emissions from coal plants” in order to safely store them, scientists claim.

Providing birds with seed can affect the evolution of our feathered friends according to research by European scientists – and could lead to the formation of new species.

A forensic study into shark DNA has revealed that many of the hammerhead sharks used to make shark-fin soup started life in American waters.

Senator John McCain is urging elderly Americans to chop up their AARP membership cards and mail them to the organization which he claims is betraying them by supporting healthcare reform.

Nearsightedness has become ever more common in rich nations, most dramatically in Asia–80 percent of young adults in Taiwan and Singapore are myopic, where a couple of generations ago only […]

Honeybee researchers have discovered that the insects release a deadly odor that shortens the lifespan of their family members – usually their sisters.

European scientists have successfully connected a touch-sensitive prosthetic hand to an amputee which he is able to control using thought.

Engineers have developed a new substance by embedding liquid metal in a flexible substrate – and so created flexible, self-healing liquid metal.

While others struggle to combat the aging process, Dr. Leonard Guarente, director of MIT’s Institute on Aging, seeks to understand it. A forty-year veteran of the university, he is best-known […]

I’ve always been fascinated by the Pedestrian Do-Si-Do, that dance where you dodge to your left on the sidewalk to avoid colliding with a person walking toward you, and she […]

Plans to develop advanced prosthetic limbs would offer the same level of flexibility, dexterity and feedback that a hand could offer according to the project’s developers.

Scientists have discovered that women live longer than men because they are made of different stuff – the study suggests that sperm may have a detrimental effect on lifespan.

The human condition of “loneliness” is contagious and can spread among groups of people in the same manner as the common cold, according to new research.

Wealthy tourists are lining up to buy seats on a Virgin Galactic rocket propelled aircraft that will go so high it’s passengers will experience total weightlessness.

“I see Every thing I paint In This World, but Every body does not see alike,” wrote William Blake. “The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in […]

Hundreds of Jupiter-like planets and a handful of Earth-sized plants have been discovered by astronomers fuelling hope of finding alien life forms.

The Seattle Times is utilising new Google technology to help inform the manhunt for the shooter responsible for the deaths of four Seattle police officers.

Western countries have warned Iran not to defy international demands by carrying out its plan to build 10 uranium enrichment sites which could be used to develop nuclear arms.

The numbers for setting carbon emissions targets “don’t add up” according to the Washington Post because they’re based on outdated projections.

Health bills currently going through Congress would fail to block hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants from coverage according to The Washington Times.

The Royal Society was founded in 1650, and has been a vital hub of scientific research and exchange ever since. In fact, as Steven Shapin and Simon Schaffer have shown, […]

The looming menace of widespread chronic disease is a lot like the prospect of major climate change. Both future crises are expected on the basis of imperfect projections which don’t […]

Scientists have developed an eco-friendly silicon air battery capable of working for thousands of hours before running out.

A recent brain scan study suggests that men and women respond differently to danger – with men primed to fight and women responding with emotion.

Having someone’s breath on your neck may help deaf people to hear what you are saying according to recent research.