Science

Devices such as digital cameras electronically measure levels of high-energy light, and that's good enough for most of us. Now, however, scientists have developed a mechanical alternative that works with almost all types of light.

A new study indicates that ants can be very effective at protecting crops from diseases. It's even being suggested that ant-derived antibiotics could be applied on a commercial scale.

If you are a space agency hoping to visit the planets of our solar system, there may be no better time to do it than when the orbits of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto bring them into a tight and neat formation. This rare planetary alignment occurs only once every 175 years, and as NASA embarked on a new chapter of space exploration under President Richard Nixon in the 1970s, it was presented with a unique opportunity. The result was the Voyager mission, humankind’s most epic astronomical adventure to date.

Virgin Galactic has unveiled its new line of "spacewear" to be worn by the company's first commercial astronauts at a New York catwalk event where Sir Richard Branson sported the outfit he will wear for the company's inaugural commercial spaceflight.

Humanity is poised to take a huge leap forward, as a convergence of next-gen technologies combine to give us unprecedented power over our own biology. Here's a roadmap to the key technologies and how it's going to play out in the coming decades.

Spanish scientists have developed a new verification system, which is said to be completely accurate at determining an egg's classification.

A new gold-doped antibacterial nanomesh has been designed as a more effective alternative to pills or needles.

The latest update to the human migration story comes from the Greek island of Naxos, where new archaeological finds show that humans and Neanderthals have occupied the site for around 200,000 years – far earlier than previously believed.

Scientists studying brain-computer interfaces at Johns Hopkins University are reporting a big breakthrough, demonstrating a system that enables a quadriplegic to control and gain feedback from two prosthetics arms at once.

A study has homed in on a gene linked to “short sleepers”, those with the ability to slumber for less than six hours a night with no negative consequences. The gene mutation also was found to prevent memory problems associated with sleep deprivation.

A landmark new study is strongly linking excessive neural activity with shorter lifespans. The study suggests a protein known to suppress neural excitation affects a number of longevity pathways, effectively slowing the aging process.

According to a new report by NOAA, September 2019 ties with September 2015 as the warmest September on the 140-year record, and shows that 2019 as a whole is heading for a spot in the top three hottest years ever.