Science & Technology News
Cats Play Fetch, Too--But Only on Their Own Terms
Retrieving isn’t just for dogs, but the emerging science of cat play can’t fully explain the feline phenomenon
This Filipina Physicist Helped Develop a Top Secret Weapon
Emma Unson Rotor worked on the proximity fuze, a groundbreaking piece of World War II weapons technology that the U.S. War Department called “second only to the atomic bomb.”
Buying Used Tech This Holiday Season Can Avert Human Rights Abuses
Here’s how to buy ethical tech and keep conflict minerals in the ground
A Rare Visual Disorder Twists Faces Out of Shape
New studies unlock the mysteries of prosopometamorphopsia, a disorder that distorts faces. One woman’s condition improves when she wears orange-tinted glasses
Dog 'Language Geniuses' Are Rare but Apparently Real
A subset of exceptional pooches can identify by name more than 100 different objects, mostly toys
How To Keep AI From Stealing the Sound of Your Voice
A new technology called AntiFake prevents the theft of the sound of your voice by making it more difficult for AI tools to analyze vocal recordings
Tiniest free-floating brown dwarf
Some icy exoplanets may have habitable oceans and geysers
Road Map for U.S. Particle Physics Wins Broad Approval
A major report plotting the future of U.S. particle physics calls for cuts to the beleaguered DUNE project, advocates a “muon shot” for a next-generation collider and recommends a new survey of the universe’s oldest observable light
This Flying Frog Spends Its Youth Masquerading as Poop
These froglets disguise themselves as feces to gross out potential predators until they’re old enough to glide through jungle canopies
NASA's Webb stuns with new high-definition look at exploded star
14-inch spacecraft delivers new details about 'hot Jupiters'
Male Songbirds Need Daily Vocal Practice to Woo Females
Birds might sing in the morning because they need a vocal workout
Green Glow of 'Mesospheric Ghosts' Decoded
Mysterious green displays in the sky dubbed “mesospheric ghosts” can sometimes accompany the dramatic red atmospheric lights called sprites
Cats Kill a Staggering Number of Species across the World
Domestic cats are cherished human companions, but a new study shows the enormous breadth of species the felines prey on when they are left to roam freely
Subterranean 'Microbial Dark Matter' Reveals a Strange Dichotomy
The genes of microbes living as deep as 1.5 kilometers below the surface reveal a split between minimalist and maximalist lifestyles
Why Do We Dream? Maybe to Ensure We Can Literally 'See' the World upon Awakening
A theory holds that dreams are a way for the visual cortex of the brain to “defend its turf” against being “taken over” to process inputs from other senses
Betelgeuse Will Briefly Disappear in Once-in-a-Lifetime Coincidence
For six seconds tonight, the constellation Orion will appear to lose the vibrant red star at its shoulder—and scientists are thrilled
Ultrasound Enables Remote 3-D Printing--Even in the Human Body
For the first time, researchers have used sound waves to 3-D print an object from a distance—even with a wall in the way
Tyrannosaur's Stomach Contents Have Been Found for the First Time
The fossilized stomach contents of a tyrannosaur have been found for the first time, revealing what the fearsome predator ate