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Robots guarded Buddha's relics in a legend of ancient India
Two small figures guard the table holding the Buddha's relics. Are they spearmen, or robots?British Museum, CC BY-NC-SAAs early as Homer, more than 2,500 years ago, Greek mythology explored the idea of...
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Escalator etiquette: Should I stand or walk for an efficient ride?
The science of getting quickly and safely to the bottom.Ryan Tang/Unsplash, CC BYLove them or hate them, traffic laws exist to keep people safe and to help vehicles flow smoothly. And while they aren’t...
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Facebook's 'pivot' is less about privacy and more about profits
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is trying to bolster his embattled company.AP Photo/Andrew HarnikFacebook’s founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s latest promise is that his social media conglomerate will...
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Softer, processed foods changed the way ancient humans spoke
Milling grain meant less wear and tear on neolithic teeth, which had other effects on language.Juan Aunion/Shutterstock.comThe human capacity for language divides our species from the rest of the...
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Editing genes shouldn't be too scary -- unless they are the ones that get...
Gene editing a fertilized human embryo. Lightspring/Shutterstock.comGene editing is one of the scarier things in the science news, but not all gene editing is the same. It matters whether researchers...
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Automated control system caused Ethiopia crash, flight data suggests
Wreckage from Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 lies near the crash site outside Addis Ababa.AP Photo/Mulugeta AyeneEmerging evidence from the recent crash in Ethiopia suggests that malfunctioning automatic...
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New evidence for a human magnetic sense that lets your brain detect the...
Do you have a magnetic compass in your head?Lightspring/Shutterstock.comDo human beings have a magnetic sense? Biologists knowother animals do. They think it helps creatures including bees, turtles and...
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Here's how airplane crash investigations work, according to an aviation...
The fatal crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 has resulted in the worldwide grounding of Boeing 737 Max aircraft. Investigators are probing the crash and another like it that occurred less than five...
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Jupiter's Great Red Spot: A 300-year-old cyclone persists but is shrinking
Jupiter's Great Red Spot.NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/ Gerald Eichstädt /Seán DoranThe Great Red Spot, a storm larger than the Earth and powerful enough to tear apart smaller storms that get drawn into...
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A case against a moratorium on germline gene editing
What's the best way to put the brakes on current research?Okrasyuk/Shutterstock.comShould researchers put the brakes on genetically engineering babies? Leading scientists and ethicists recently called...
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Livestreamed massacre means it's time to shut down Facebook Live
Facebook Live can be fun – or really scary.I'm friday/Shutterstock.comWhen word broke that the massacre in New Zealand was livestreamed on Facebook, I immediately thought of Robert Godwin Sr. In 2017,...
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Will more genetically engineered foods be approved under the FDA's new...
Will food laws change as more GM foods are created?Zerbor/Shutterstock.comThe world of food and drug regulation was rocked earlier this month by the news of a change in leadership at the Food and Drug...
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Cars are regulated for safety – why not information technology?
Modern cars are safer than this – but not because auto companies got more ethical.Richard Thornton/Shutterstock.comAs the computing industry grapples with its role in society, many people, both in the...
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Despite consumer worries, the future of aviation will be more automated
Human pilots, surrounded by automation.Sorbis/Shutterstock.comIn the wake of the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes of Boeing 737 Max planes, people are thinking about how much of their air travel...
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Why the next terror manifesto could be even harder to track
It's difficult to track the spread of digital materials.bluebay/Shutterstock.comJust before his shooting spree at two Christchurch, New Zealand mosques, the alleged mass murderer posted a hate-filled...
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Apollo 11 brought a message of peace to the Moon - but Neil and Buzz almost...
President Richard M. Nixon welcomes the Apollo 11 astronauts aboard the USS Hornet, the recovery ship for the mission, where they are quarantined. From left to right: Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins...
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In the future, everyone might use quantum computers
A seven-qubit quantum device at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, N.Y. AP Photo/Seth WenigComputers were once considered high-end technology, only accessible to scientists...
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Beyond 'Bandersnatch,' the future of interactive TV is bright
Make a choice to see the next phase of the story.NetflixMake a choice: Do you want to engage with your media passively or actively?The December 2018 premiere of Netflix’s “Black Mirror: Bandersnatch”...
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Extreme weather news may not change climate change skeptics' minds
How do people respond to media coverage of weather influenced by climate change?AP Photo/Andy NewmanThe year 2018 brought particularly devastating natural disasters, including hurricanes, droughts,...
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Principle behind Google's April Fools' pigeon prank proves more than a joke
Consider the wisdom of the flock.Zac Ong/Unsplash, CC BYGoogle’s 2002 April Fools’ Day joke purportedly disclosed that its popular search engine was not actually powered by artificial intelligence, but...
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