Category: 7. SciTech

Cats became human companions for the first time likely following mass cult ritual sacrifices of the furry felines in ancient Egypt, a pair of…

For centuries, the question of what consciousness is—where it comes from, and what it does—was left to philosophers and mystics. But now, scientists across biology, neuroscience, and physics are seriously looking at something once thought untestable: the possibility that human…

Devastating tornadoes cause hundreds of millions of dollars in damage and dozens of deaths across the U.S. each year. They upend homes and…

Engineers in Singapore have developed a sustainable cooling tile made from mushrooms and bamboo. It’s a new biodegradable building material that mimics elephant skin and can keep buildings cool without relying on air conditioning or electricity.

Created by a team at Nanyang…

Social media influencers encouraging travellers to “stroke” sharks are behind a rise in shark attacks, according to a new study.

The…

British scientists could experiment with techniques to block sunlight as part of a £50 million government funded scheme to

The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine.

For computer scientists, solving problems is a bit like mountaineering. First they must choose a problem to solve—akin to identifying a peak to climb—and then they must develop a strategy to solve it. Classical and quantum…

One in ten people suffers after eating a meal. Instead of sitting back to relax while feeling sated, nourished and full, these people associate finishing a dish with stomach cramps, bloating and problems emptying their bowels (either too quickly or too slowly).

This suffering is caused by…

Ever since its formation around 4.5 billion years ago, Earth’s rotation has been gradually slowing down, and its days have gotten progressively longer as a result.

While Earth’s slowdown is not noticeable on human timescales, it’s enough to work significant changes over eons. One of those…

Most people think of tick bites as nuisances or, at worst, vectors for Lyme disease. But imagine waking up in the middle of the night with hives, your throat closing up, all because you ate some pork hours earlier.

That was Cathy Raley’s reality, according to reports from Science…