Science and Technolgy blog
When he realized that Senate Republicans were characterizing his federally funded research project as one of many they considered ideological and of questionable scientific value, Darren Lipomi, chair of the chemical engineering department at the University of Rochester, was incensed.…
Greenland’s ice sheet has been losing a staggering amount of ice at an accelerating rate. A tipping point could come by the turn of the next century, a new study warns.
New research has revealed that the ability to process faces is not only connected to general intelligence but is also negatively associated with certain traits linked to autism. The study, published in the Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, found that…
Beautifully captured by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), this image shows interstellar gas and dust lit up by a dead star in Cassiopeia.
A new study published in the Journal of Dental Research provides reassuring evidence regarding the safety of early childhood fluoride exposure. Researchers found that exposure to fluoride in the first five years of life, whether through drinking water or as…
The round little pads on cats’ paws are more than just cute — they’re a feat of evolution that serve many important functions.
“The Phoenix cluster has the largest reservoir of hot, cooling gas of any galaxy cluster.”
A new study published in Educational Researcher suggests that the rise in suicidal thoughts and behaviors among high school girls in recent years might be connected to an increase in the number of girls identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or…
Global warming is raising the body temperature of Australian crocodiles, forcing them to spend less time diving and more time cooling down.
“This line of attack in the War on Cancer has had few meaningful outcomes for cancer patients.”
A recent study of adult women with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) found that an 8‑week mindfulness training program led to significantly lower IBS symptoms at 6 and 12 months after the training. Additionally, anxiety and depression symptoms improved in this…
Difficulties in social situations experienced by boys with autism may be related to how certain brain networks communicate with each other, a new study suggests. Scientists at the A*STAR Institute for Human Development and Potential have found that variations in…
The mantis shrimp comes equipped with its own weapons. It has claws that look like permanently clenched fists that are known as dactyl clubs. But when it smashes the shells of its prey, these fists come out of it undamaged.…
Harbinger provided transportation from LAX to its HQ in Garden Grove, California, so Ars could drive its prototype truck. Ars does not accept paid editorial content. GARDEN GROVE, Calif.—There’s no shortage of companies looking to reinvent the delivery experience using…
Chinese scientists have announced details on the upcoming China Space Station Telescope (CSST), a cutting-edge observatory that will rival the JWST.
Serotonin, a brain chemical widely recognized for its influence on mood and anxiety, has been found to operate in a surprising way within the cerebellum, according to new research published in The Journal of Neuroscience. Scientists discovered that increasing serotonin…
Nonavian dinosaurs have been extinct for 66 million years, but what would have happened if they’d survived?
The excellent Garmin Forerunner 945 is now half-price at Walmart.
Feb. 22, 2025: Our weekly roundup of the latest science in the news, as well as a few fascinating articles to keep you entertained over the weekend.
Isar Aerospace, a German startup founded seven years ago, is positioned to become the first in a new generation of European launch companies to reach orbit with a privately funded rocket. The company announced Friday that the first stage of…
An ongoing measles outbreak that began in one of Texas’ least vaccinated counties has mushroomed to 90 cases across a cluster of seven counties in the state, according to an update by the Texas Department of State Health Services on…
Thousands of probationary federal employees received termination notices. Many were doing crucial work at science-related agencies.
Want to improve global relations? The answer might be simpler than you think. A recent study published in the European Journal of Social Psychology demonstrated that showing people an eleven-minute video emphasizing the shared genes of all humans can lead…
On Wednesday, Clone Robotics released video footage of its Protoclone humanoid robot, a full-body machine that uses synthetic muscles to create unsettlingly human-like movements. In the video, the robot hangs suspended from the ceiling as its limbs twitch and kick,…
As the owner of a 3-year-old laptop, I feel the finite lifespan of lithium batteries acutely. It’s still a great machine, but the cost of a battery replacement would take me a significant way down the path of upgrading to…
More than a year’s worth of internal communications from one of the world’s most active ransomware syndicates have been published online in a leak that exposes tactics, trade secrets, and internal rifts of its members. The communications come in the…
You might suspect that a one-line bill about Bigfoot that bears the number “666” is a joke, but AB-666 is apparently a serious offering from California Assemblymember Chris Rogers. Rogers represents a California district known for its Bigfoot sightings (or…
Elon Musk apparently no longer believes that crowdsourcing fact-checking through Community Notes can never be manipulated and is, thus, the best way to correct bad posts on his social media platform X. Community Notes are supposed to be added to…
On May 16, 2024, a powerful derecho swept through Houston, killing seven people and causing significant damage to several of the city’s towering skyscrapers. Those buildings were constructed to withstand much stronger hurricane-force winds up to 67 meters per second,…
PC- and accessory-maker Asus has never been one to shy away from a strange idea, whether it’s a tablet that you need to slide your smartphone into before you can use it, a laptop touchpad that’s also a screen, or…
Could a simple breakfast choice improve your brain function all day long? According to a new study, the answer appears to be yes, especially if that breakfast includes walnuts. Researchers found that young adults who ate about 50 grams of…
High-revving naturally aspirated engines and their associated screaming soundtracks might be on their way back to Formula 1. Not with next year’s rule changes—that will see even bigger lithium-ion batteries and an even more powerful electric motor, paired with a…
In December, roughly a dozen employees inside a manufacturing company received a tsunami of phishing messages that was so big they were unable to perform their day-to-day functions. A little over an hour later, the people behind the email flood…
Rust, a modern and notably more memory-safe language than C, once seemed like it was on a steady, calm, and gradual approach into the Linux kernel. In 2021, Linux kernel leaders, like founder and leader Linus Torvalds himself, were impressed…
Just days after anti-vaccine advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. became the country’s top health official, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has already pulled back some of its efforts to protect Americans with safe, life-saving vaccines. The agency has…
An infant with a fatal genetic disease has survived past the age of 2 with no signs of the condition, thanks to treatment started in the womb.
The world is watching as NASA tweaks the odds that asteroid 2024 YR4 will hit Earth. But how threatening is YR4, and how does it compare to other potentially hazardous space rocks?
Protoclone, an eerily lifelike humanoid robot built for home use, has left social media users aghast. And it’s likely to be the first of many.
Feminist beliefs, not gender equality primes, shape self-reported partner preferences, according to research published in Sex Roles. For decades, researchers have documented gender differences in partner preferences: men tend to prioritize physical attractiveness, while women emphasize a partner’s resource-gaining potential.…
YouTube dominates online video, but it’s absolutely crammed full of ads these days. A YouTube Premium subscription takes care of that, but ad blockers do exist. Google seems to have gotten the message—a cheaper streaming subscription is on the way…
After the United Kingdom demanded that Apple create a backdoor that would allow government officials globally to spy on encrypted data, Apple decided to simply turn off encryption services in the UK rather than risk exposing its customers to snooping.…
Last month, DeepSeek turned the AI world on its head with the release of a new, competitive simulated reasoning model that was free to download and use under an MIT license. Now, the company is preparing to make the underlying…
Environments are littered with the DNA of the creatures that inhabit them. Analyzing it could provide a real-time view of how our planet is changing.
The 10-part series is narrated by Tom Hanks with a score by Hans Zimmer – here’s how to watch The Americas online, on TV and from anywhere.
A recent study in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs has shed light on a less discussed aspect of psychedelic experiences: the feelings of shame and guilt that can arise during these journeys. Researchers found that experiencing shame or guilt while…
Do you remember The Simpsons episode “Scenes from the Class Struggle in Springfield”? It first aired in February 1996, and it’s the one where Homer and Bart go to Appliance Zone and are confronted with “genuine” Panaphonics, Sorny, and Magnetbox…
In an odd approach to trying to improve customer tech support, HP allegedly implemented mandatory, 15-minute wait times for people calling the vendor for help with their computers and printers in certain geographies. Callers from the United Kingdom, France, Germany,…
On Friday, a Coinbase executive declared the “war against crypto” over—”at least as it applies to Coinbase.” According to Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) plans to drop its lawsuit against the largest…
Senior politicians in Japan are not going to let Nissan die easily. The automaker has been struggling for some time now, with an outdated product portfolio, ongoing quarterly losses, and soon, the closure of factories and thousands of layoffs. The…
A political scientist explains how a confluence of personality traits and perceived status loss can encourage some people to generate chaos as a solution to their woes.
