The little-known Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer spacecraft was like a Geiger counter for the universe, listening to black holes…
Under an authoritarian government, freedoms can come at a steep – and lasting – price.
When you send off a cheek swab to one of the private genome companies, you may sacrifice not just your own privacy but that…
Local governments don't pay much attention to cybersecurity, leaving them vulnerable to hijacking as happened to Atlanta…
The internet developed as a place for open collaboration; there are technical limits on its transformation into a commercial…
Why was one gene mutation that affects hair, teeth, sweat glands and breasts ubiquitous among ice age Arctic people? New…
In a complex environment with massive numbers of internet-connected devices, the key barrier to better cybersecurity isn't…
E. coli bacteria are the frequent culprits behind outbreaks of food-borne illnesses. But not all strains are harmful; some…
Humans and machines perceive the world differently and respond in different ways to what they perceive. This lays the groundwork…
Using nanostructures on a flat piece of glass can make lenses smaller, lighter and much cheaper – while providing better…
Building features can be analyzed in the same way that facial recognition software works, revealing previously hidden elements…
Airplanes could be safer with technology at the helm. A key sticking point is human opinion.
Human beings seem to be born wearing rose-colored glasses. Psychologists are interested in how this bias toward the positive…
Facebook is realizing it has broad obligations to society. Here's how it could start meeting them.
For years, watchdogs have warned of the potential problems of sharing data with online companies. The Facebook data crisis…
Four scientists talk through the ways they now build outreach into their work as a way to spread their research's impact…
The current reckoning with data has been a long time coming, a historian of privacy in the US writes.
US privacy laws focus on informing consumers what's happening with their data; other countries specifically restrict…
As millions in federal dollars flow to states to protect elections, what should the money help pay for?
When NASA first started planning the Kepler mission, no one knew if the universe held any planets outside our solar system.…