1,529 results
- Science & Society
Science inspires awe — and arguments
As an eventful year in the sciences concludes, one that sparked both triumph and tragedy, SN's Editor in Chief contemplates 2014's most interesting stories.
- Animals
To study turkey instincts, consider robot turkeys
In 2004, Australian researchers built robot turkeys to study the instincts of Australian brush turkey chicks. Robots can be a useful way of learning more about animals, but the use of robots has yet to take over in animal behavior studies.
- Astronomy
Philae lander reveals stunning, unsettling view of comet
Concerns are surfacing about the Rosetta mission lander Philae’s ability to fully explore comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
- Astronomy
Comet-crazed, and for good reason
Coming to the edge of knowledge, especially about what’s out in space, fires the imagination.
- Astronomy
Rosetta’s countdown to comet landing has begun
Everything is on track for Rosetta mission scientists to attempt to set the Philae lander on the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
- Planetary Science
NASA bets on asteroid mission as best path to Mars
NASA wants to bag an asteroid using robotic arms or an enormous sack and place the rock in the moon’s orbit for study. This may keep astronauts working but not, as NASA claims, get them Mars-ready.
- Animals
Dogs pick up robots’ social cues
Dogs were more likely to pay attention to a PeopleBot robot — a machine with a laptop head and Mickey Mouse–style hands — after watching it walk, talk and shake hands with humans.
- Tech
Exoskeleton helps paraplegic kick off World Cup
A paralyzed person wearing a brain-controlled robotic exoskeleton has made the first kick at the 2014 soccer World Cup.
- Life
California mite becomes fastest land animal
Despite being the size of a sesame seed, the Paratarsotomus macropalpis mite can outpace Usain Bolt and even a cheetah in terms of body lengths per second.
- Earth
Sometimes value lies deep below the surface
Stories on jellyfish, Ebola, carbon capture's future and heart disease's past reveal how crises old and new often lead to science's healthiest advances.
- Tech
Jellyfish-like flying machine takes off
Mimicking sea creatures instead of insects leads to better hovering, scientists find.
- Genetics
Human thoughts control mouse genes
Human brain waves trigger light that activates protein production in rodents.
