Surprising Science

“Some experts worry that even with genetic counseling, people will over-interpret their test results, concluding that they can skip the sunscreen if they’re at low risk of skin cancer, for instance.”

Bacteria-tainted produce can pose a serious threat to human health but current tests for disease take too long for food producers to use. Now a Boston company is building a faster test.

Food scientists are now discovering that the process of tasting food is one of the more complex things the brain is tasked to do, combining data from all our senses into one unified and delicious experience.

Over the last month, big news shook NewSpace and advanced the narrative of the industry. The stories’ main characters are not NewSpace companies with climactic reveals of technological breakthroughs. Instead, […]

“We should consider ourselves fortunate if we find our work so satisfying and meaningful, and if we can make a contribution until the end,” said Yale philosophy professor Shelly Kagan.

According to the debt-averse deficit hawk position fueling Republican budget proposals, we need to slash government spending to promote economic growth. That assumption relies on a 2010 research paper by two Harvard economists that we now know is studded with errors.

The issue is solar radiation. A solution to the solar storms, which have the ability to decompose our DNA in a matter of days, would be a deflector shield much like the one used by the Starship Enterprise.

Based on recent findings, scientists in the Netherlands believe that diamond crystals may one day form what amounts to an Internet connecting far flung quantum computers. 

Could social media have found the Boston Marathon bombing suspect faster? Could they have prevented the bombing in the first place? These are just two of the questions technologists are now asking.

The manufacturing revolution that 3-D printing was meant to facilitate has stalled. Given that much of the printing hardware is decades old, fault lies with 3-D printing software, says Matthew Griffin.

130 years after Thomas Edison created the lighting industry with his invention of the incandescent bulb, new digital technology is creating novel uses for the unique properties of light.

As more communities include cyclists in their infrastructure decisions, American electric bike manufacturers are extolling the virtues of their products, including ease of use and eco-friendliness.

A new survey reveals that some British parents let their young children interact with mobile devices for four or more hours a day. One psychiatrist reports that children as young as four are now being treated for addiction.

From air filters in classrooms to sports domes covering school fields to bans on outdoor field trips, residents are doing everything they can to safeguard children from the effects of a worsening pollution crisis. Some are just leaving.

It’s one thing to have someone online perform a routine task. It’s another if you’re blind and about to eat dinner, or you’re deaf and attending a college lecture. Two apps come to the rescue.

Mounting a big cooler on the front — in the same place as a bike rack — would link residents living in food deserts to areas with more food options, says Ohio State student Langley Erickson.

The impending catastrophe has been fueled by a skewed, institutionally enclosed rationality that is widespread within the business community; the basic principle is that short-term power and wealth are more important than human survival.

Facing financial obstacles along the way to paying out retiree pensions, businesses are increasingly moving their own products into employee benefit plans or investing in exotic goods.

They combed through 1,000 obituaries.

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital have successfully transplanted a lab-grown kidney into a mouse that filters blood and urine, albeit at a fraction of a natural kidney’s functionality.

When veterinarians began changing the diets of two overweight grizzly bears at Chicago’s Brookfield Zoo, some observers noted how the process might equally benefit human health.

The Eye+ Window can display scenic views of any location and uses sensors to track your eye movements and adapt the image as needed, making it seem as though you’re really looking through a window.

What motivated the perpetrators of the carnage at the Boston Marathon on Monday? Authorities area step closerto identifying those responsible, and we may eventually learn why they decided to detonate […]

An MIT engineer has designed a system that links phones together wirelessly, creating a network of shared cameras and, potentially, thousands of different photos to choose from.

Yes, it has come to this: A researcher has created a system that uses a depth-sensing camera to detect obstacles and displays warnings via a message on your smartphone screen.

Scientists borrowed the latching ability of the spiny-headed worm to create a microneedle device that is over three times stronger than staples and easier to remove, making it ideal for delicate skin grafts.

Two scientists conducted a “thought experiment” using the popular computer science law and came up with some interesting and controversial possibilities on the true origins of species.

CrowdMed, launched Tuesday, is one of several Web-based platforms that anyone can use to help diagnose mystery conditions.

Every teacher is obligated to devote teaching time to direct test prep. 

Earlier this month, President Obama announced his intention to create an ambitious research project, supported by billions of federal dollars, to unlock the secrets of how the brain works.