Don’t Swat It–It May be a Spy

March 8, 2013
Why make tiny flying drones when you can fly REAL insects by remote-control? In 2006, DARPA asked US scientists to submit "innovative proposals to develop technology to create insect-cyborgs"--tiny flying robots that can perform surveillance in dangerous territory. One there... continued

We’re Closer Than Ever to Becoming Invisible

March 8, 2013
Great strides are being made, when it comes to creating invisibility. Baile Zhang, a scientist from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, caused his audience to gasp when he demonstrated the following experiment: He used a small box made of calcite... continued

Will the Next Pope be Black?

March 8, 2013
Africa is the continent where Catholicism is strongest, unlike Europe, where people are becoming more secular--even in Italy, home of the Vatican. The exiting Pope Benedict will have a lot of influence on who will be chosen to succeed him.... continued

Smoking Solution

March 8, 2013
The number of smokers has gone down--fewer than one in five adults now smoke in the US, which is about half as many smokers as there were 50 years ago. Despite this, cigarettes kill more than 400,000 Americans every year.... continued

New Ice Age in Alaska

March 8, 2013
While most of the world is experiencing global warming, Alaska seems to be entering another ice age. Since 2000, temperatures in Alaska have dropped by 2.4 degrees Fahrenheit. When scientists looked at weather reports from 20 climate stations in that... continued

Chavez Death May Mean End of Castro Regime

March 8, 2013
The death of Venezuela President Hugo Chavez on March 5th may ALSO spell the end of Communism is Cuba, because Chavez supported the Castro regime in a way that Venezuela--itself having money problems--cannot really afford, and Chavez's replacement, probably Nicolás... continued

Tracking Fukushima Fish

March 7, 2013
If radiation from Fukushima is detectable in fish, scientists can use it to trace the routes of the many sea creatures, from tuna to sharks to turtles, that make long journeys across the open seas. For instance, we still don't... continued

Need Something? Print It!

March 7, 2013
Three-dimensional manufacturing is making something out of practically nothing. People are buying these printers at a rapid rate--one New York outlet that sells 3-D printers sold 15,000 of them last year. But it won't be that way for long: When... continued

Comet Aiming for Mars

March 7, 2013
Will life on Mars go the way of the dinosaurs before we have a chance to discover it? Incoming Comet C213/A1, discovered on January 1st, is expected by some astronomers to pass within 28,000 miles of Marsin 2014. But cometary... continued

The Legacy of Sandy

March 6, 2013
The areas hit by Hurricane Sandy have mostly been rebuilt, but there is one dangerous problem still lurking there: MOLD. It's erupting in fuzzy streaks of brown and black in flooded houses. Some of it could even be deadly if... continued