Is your VPN secure?
Virtual private network companies make lots of promising claims about their services. Most people don't have the skills…
February 4, 2019
10
Technology
Facebook's business is helping other businesses
Facebook's focus on personalizing ads has created new tools for businesses to interact with customers and to connect…
February 1, 2019
13
Salt doesn't melt ice – here's how it actually makes winter streets safe
When it snows, it pours – but why do municipalities treat the roads with salt? A chemist explains how salt affects water…
February 1, 2019
10
Facebook is a persuasion platform that's changing the advertising rulebook
After 15 years of Facebook, the ways brands use it for marketing and advertising have changed – right alongside the way…
January 31, 2019
9
First private spacecraft shoots for the moon
The private space race is about to take another great leap as Israel sends a private lander to the moon.
January 31, 2019
11
Facebook at 15: It's not all bad, but now it must be good
Facebook has been acting irresponsibly and selfishly, and promising to do better without actually improving. But that's…
January 31, 2019
13
Text analysis of thousands of grant abstracts shows that writing style matters
Grant abstracts with more words, more complex language and more storytelling tend to earn more money – even if that's…
January 31, 2019
10
Scientist at work: I'm a geologist who's dived dozens of times to explore submarine volcanoes
When you study volcanoes at mid-ocean ridges, doing fieldwork means becoming an aquanaut – diving thousands of feet to…
January 30, 2019
9
How Facebook went from friend to frenemy
Facebook users no longer see the site as a confidant. They're struggling with how to deal with a messy codependence…
January 30, 2019
9
How to have productive disagreements about politics and religion
Research suggests people intuitively draw a distinction between what is known and what is believed. Recognizing the difference…
January 29, 2019
9
Together, more heat and more carbon dioxide may not alter quantity or nutritional quality of crops
Many researchers have studied the impact of carbon dioxide and heat on crop growth inside greenhouses. But what happens…
January 29, 2019
9
Can you life-hack your way to love?
Trying to optimize the search for love can be naive. Using statistics and measurements isn't necessarily the best way…
January 28, 2019
10
I studied buttons for 7 years and learned these 5 lessons about how and why people push them
Buttons don't always make things easier – and using them can be fraught with peril and troubling power dynamics.
January 25, 2019
26
University scientists feel the pain of the government shutdown, too
Lots of academic scientists collaborate with federal employees and resources on their research projects. And at the moment…
January 25, 2019
20
Gene drive technology makes mouse offspring inherit specific traits from parents
When geneticists create mice with special traits, there is no way to be sure that they will be inherited by the offspring.…
January 24, 2019
22
Data privacy rules in the EU may leave the US behind
The European Union has issued its first fine, cracking down on companies that misuse users' personal data. Why hasn't…
January 23, 2019
17
Women are better than men at the free throw line
A new study looks at decades of NCAA free throws, finding that women shoot at 3 percent higher consistency than men.
January 23, 2019
13
Have you caught a catfish? Online dating can be deceptive
Online lies can often be easy to detect, by searching for images and phone numbers and exploring social media profiles.…
January 23, 2019
14
Are microbes causing your milk allergy?
There has been a dramatic rise in life-threatening food allergies in the last few decades. Antibiotics, poor diet and C-sections…
January 22, 2019
12
Why paper maps still matter in the digital age
If you want to really learn your way around a new place, paper maps still trump digital options.
January 22, 2019
11