Science + Technology – The Conversation – new research, AI, space, psychology and more

view along the deck of a oil super tanker at sea with sunset in the background

view along the deck of a oil super tanker at sea with sunset in the background

When GPS lies at sea: How electronic warfare is threatening ships and their crews

Anna Raymaker, Georgia Institute of Technology

A black and white photo showing a blurry object flying above clouds.

A black and white photo showing a blurry object flying above clouds.

While the US government is investigating unidentified anomalous phenomena, academic researchers studying them face stigma

Darrell Evans, Purdue University

Portrait of Jesse Jackson's face at his memorial service, attendees blurred in the foreground

Portrait of Jesse Jackson's face at his memorial service, attendees blurred in the foreground

Jesse Jackson’s misdiagnosis of Parkinson’s is common – new genetic discovery could lead to treatment for this deadly disease

Jose Abisambra, University of Florida

an older woman sitting at a table points to the screen of the smartphone she's holding as a younger woman looks where she's pointing

an older woman sitting at a table points to the screen of the smartphone she's holding as a younger woman looks where she's pointing

Constant technology changes throw seniors a curve – and add to caregivers’ load

Debaleena Chattopadhyay, University of Illinois Chicago

Not just Patriot interceptors: A defense expert explains the various weapons US and allies use to defend against missiles and drones

Iain Boyd, University of Colorado Boulder

bright lines of light curve up into the night sky above a city

bright lines of light curve up into the night sky above a city

AI doesn’t ‘see’ the way that you do, and that could be a problem when it categorizes objects and scenes

Arryn Robbins, University of Richmond; Eben W. Daggett, New Mexico State University, and Michael Hout, New Mexico State University

Gray hairless cat seated, against plain dark background, leaning head toward back foot

Gray hairless cat seated, against plain dark background, leaning head toward back foot

black and white aerial view of an airfield

black and white aerial view of an airfield

US military leans into AI for attack on Iran, but the tech doesn’t lessen the need for human judgment in war

Jon R. Lindsay, Georgia Institute of Technology

Fat cells burn energy to make heat – making them the next frontier of weight loss therapies

Claudio Villanueva, University of California, Los Angeles

Illustration of close-up of several clumps of yellow spheres

Illustration of close-up of several clumps of yellow spheres

Oil isn’t just fuel: Iran conflict could disrupt markets for everything from plastics to fertilizers

André O. Hudson, Rochester Institute of Technology

Oil pumps, which are large machines, working against a sunset.

Oil pumps, which are large machines, working against a sunset.

Astrophysicists trace the origin of valuable metals in space, from colliding stars to merging galaxies

Simone Dichiara, Penn State and Eleonora Troja, University of Rome Tor Vergata

An illustration of a bright flash of light in space.

An illustration of a bright flash of light in space.

Why cloud service outages ripple across the internet – and the economy

Doug Jacobson, Iowa State University

a man wearing an ID lanyared and carrying a water bottle walks past blank display screensin an airport terminal

a man wearing an ID lanyared and carrying a water bottle walks past blank display screensin an airport terminal

Latest Science and Technology articles

Get our science editors' picks in your inbox every week

Space

Petroglyphs carved into a rock, with a long exposure of stars circling one point in the background.

Petroglyphs carved into a rock, with a long exposure of stars circling one point in the background.

Why are some stars always visible while others come and go with the seasons?

Vahe Peroomian, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

With Artemis II facing delays, NASA announces big structural changes to the lunar program

Marcos Fernandez Tous, University of North Dakota

A panel of four people sitting in front of a screen reading 'Artemis Update'

A panel of four people sitting in front of a screen reading 'Artemis Update'

A Plan B for space? On the risks of concentrating national space power in private hands

Svetla Ben-Itzhak, Johns Hopkins University

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifting off a launchpad with a plume of flame and a cloud of smoke beneath it, with a building labeled 'SpaceX' in the foreground.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifting off a launchpad with a plume of flame and a cloud of smoke beneath it, with a building labeled 'SpaceX' in the foreground.

Living in space can change where your brain sits in your skull – new research

Rachael Seidler, University of Florida and Tianyi (Erik) Wang, University of Florida

An illustration showing a human silhouette with the brain outlined, with a diagram of the solar system overlaid. Two astronauts push at the front and back of the brain.

An illustration showing a human silhouette with the brain outlined, with a diagram of the solar system overlaid. Two astronauts push at the front and back of the brain.

NASA’s Artemis II crewed mission to the Moon shows how US space strategy has changed since Apollo – and contrasts with China’s closed program

Michelle L.D. Hanlon, University of Mississippi

A partial view of the Moon from space

A partial view of the Moon from space

More articles about space

Digital life

a teen girl weaing pajamas looks at a phone while sitting on a bed in a dark room

a teen girl weaing pajamas looks at a phone while sitting on a bed in a dark room

How Instagram addictiveness lawsuit could reshape social media – platform design meets product liability

Carolina Rossini, UMass Amherst

Will AI accelerate or undermine the way humans have always innovated?

R. Alexander Bentley, University of Tennessee

two metal gears meshing with the word 'past' on one and the word 'future' on the other

two metal gears meshing with the word 'past' on one and the word 'future' on the other

‘Probably’ doesn’t mean the same thing to your AI as it does to you

Mayank Kejriwal, University of Southern California

an illustration depicting a man in a business suit with hands on hips next to a humanoid robot that is pointing up to an arrow that is at the end of a jagged line that shifts upwards from left to right

an illustration depicting a man in a business suit with hands on hips next to a humanoid robot that is pointing up to an arrow that is at the end of a jagged line that shifts upwards from left to right

Algorithms that customize marketing to your phone could also influence your views on warfare

Justin Pelletier, Rochester Institute of Technology

an illustration of people in a crowd looking at phones and tablets

an illustration of people in a crowd looking at phones and tablets

Swarms of AI bots can sway people’s beliefs – threatening democracy

Filippo Menczer, Indiana University

numerous blue human figures and white human silhouettes stand on a grid

numerous blue human figures and white human silhouettes stand on a grid

More articles about artificial intelligence

New research

What does the appendix do? Biologists explain the complicated evolution of this inconvenient organ

Phil Starks, Tufts University and Lilia Goncharova, Tufts University

Illustration of a person's transparent abdomen with organs outlined, a short curl highlighted in red

Illustration of a person's transparent abdomen with organs outlined, a short curl highlighted in red

Silicone wristbands can help scientists track people’s exposure to pollutants like ‘forever chemicals’

Yaw Edu Essandoh, Indiana University

An overhead shot of a person placing a black silicone wristband around their wrist. They are also wearing an orange and pink wristband.

An overhead shot of a person placing a black silicone wristband around their wrist. They are also wearing an orange and pink wristband.

Researchers are combining drones and AI to make removing land mines faster and safer

Sagar Lekhak, Rochester Institute of Technology

in the foreground a red sign with skull and crossbones, in the background a person wearing protective gear coineeling in a field

in the foreground a red sign with skull and crossbones, in the background a person wearing protective gear coineeling in a field

I study why zebrafish larva prefer to circle left or right, to understand how and why human brains encode right- and left-handedness

Eric Horstick, West Virginia University

Close-up of a pair of hands holding writing utensils against a surface

Close-up of a pair of hands holding writing utensils against a surface

Nanoparticles and artificial intelligence can help researchers detect pollutants in water, soil and blood

Andres B. Sanchez Alvarado, Rice University

A small glass square under a microscope lens

A small glass square under a microscope lens

Tiny recording backpacks reveal bats’ surprising hunting strategy

Leonie Baier, Naturalis Biodiversity Center

Fringe-lipped bat wearing a red miniature data logger on its back.

Fringe-lipped bat wearing a red miniature data logger on its back.

Why does pain last longer for women? Immune cells may be the culprit

Geoffroy Laumet, Michigan State University

Person sitting on couch with hands clutching knees, grimacing in pain

Person sitting on couch with hands clutching knees, grimacing in pain

1 protein to rule them all – why crowning the protein that makes jellyfish glow green as a model can help scientists streamline biology

Marc Zimmer, Connecticut College

3D illustration of a barrel-shaped structure composed of interweaving green ribbonlike arrows and squiggles, a tan molecule suspended in its center

3D illustration of a barrel-shaped structure composed of interweaving green ribbonlike arrows and squiggles, a tan molecule suspended in its center

Brain and mind

Making good choices when life gets messy – practical wisdom relies on human judgment, not rules

Tim Hulsey, University of Tennessee

Woman lying on couch and adolescent girl leaning on it look at each other

Woman lying on couch and adolescent girl leaning on it look at each other

Are heroes born or made? Role models and training can prepare ordinary people to take heroic action

Catherine A. Sanderson, Amherst College

little girl's silhouette flexing her muscles with shadow of a caped superwoman

little girl's silhouette flexing her muscles with shadow of a caped superwoman

Hesitation is costly in sports but essential to life – neuroscientists identified its brain circuitry

Eric Yttri, Carnegie Mellon University

Close-up of skier Emma Aicher in full gear, looking down

Close-up of skier Emma Aicher in full gear, looking down

A human tendency to value expertise, not just sheer power, explains how some social hierarchies form

Thomas Morgan, Arizona State University

man stands at head of a work table with seated people looking at him, all smiling

man stands at head of a work table with seated people looking at him, all smiling

More articles about psychology

Curious Kids

Real kids ask real questions and real experts answer them

A father and his young daughters walk through a field of wildflowers with a snow-covered mountain ahead.

A father and his young daughters walk through a field of wildflowers with a snow-covered mountain ahead.

Why do mountaintops stay snowy?

Allie Mazurek, Colorado State University

Why are so many statues naked? An art historian explains this tradition’s ancient roots

Anna Swartwood House, University of South Carolina

porcelain station of a naked, bearded man reclining with mini children cavorting over and around him

porcelain station of a naked, bearded man reclining with mini children cavorting over and around him

Kids ask the questions. Scholars answer them.

Be sure to include your name, age and where you live. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.

Send in your question!

Graphic that says 'connecting experts with curious kids', with words in background saying 'how? why? who?'

Graphic that says 'connecting experts with curious kids', with words in background saying 'how? why? who?'

What is Bluetooth and how does it work?

Shreyas Sen, Purdue University

a girl wearing wireless earbuds looks at a tablet screen

a girl wearing wireless earbuds looks at a tablet screen

How do people know their interests? The shortest player in the NBA shows how self-belief matters more than biology

Greg Edwards, Missouri University of Science and Technology

Basketball player running with ball on court, a player twice his height running beside him

Basketball player running with ball on court, a player twice his height running beside him

More Curious Kids articles

Most read this week