Technology

Spy on the Inside: Underground Control Center for Texas' Power Grid

04.23.2012

Does Rain Come From Life in the Clouds?

Scientists are making their first forays into the mysterious world of biology miles up in the air. Their startling conclusion: That ecosystem in the sky might influence tomorrow's weather and next year's harvest. 04.20.2012

7 Animals That Harnessed Nanotechnology Long Before Humans

The animal kingdom boasts many an impressive form, from arching giraffe necks to spoon-shaped bird beaks to gigantic beetle claws. But evolution has worked on much smaller scales too, producing nanostructures that help animals climb, slither, camouflage, flirt, and thrive. 04.03.2012

Engineers 
Concoct the World's Lightest Material

New metal mesh has just one-hundredth the density of Styrofoam. 03.29.2012

Fierce Old Warplane Has a New Mission: Flying Into the Hearts of Thunderstorms

Equipped with heavy armor and an impressively 
powerful cannon, the A-10 Thunderbolt was built to survive. 03.27.2012

3-D Printers Spit Out Fancy Food, Green Cars, and Replacement Bones

The list of the new technology's applications grows monthly. 03.26.2012

Tools of the Trade: Curiosity, NASA’s Laser-Blasting Mars Robot

Curiosity will satisfy its curiosity by zapping rocks on the Red Planet and watching the resulting plasma. 03.16.2012

Where Earth Is Unearthly: Exotic Places That Resemble Alien Planets

From windswept deserts to the ocean near Key Largo, some parts of our planet are surprisingly similar to other worlds. 03.14.2012

Impatient Futurist: Good News, Spock—We're Getting Closer to a Universal Translator

The rapid advancement of Google-style, statistical translation may help realize this long-time dream. 02.27.2012

How I Dismantled the World’s Deadliest Weapon

Phil Hoover is in the bomb business. But these days he’s a bomb unbuilder, eliminating nukes to comply with arms treaties. 02.20.2012

4 Bold Ideas to Make America’s Energy Supply 
Safer, Cleaner & 
Virtually Inexhaustible


A group of experts charts out a path for navigating through humanity's painful energy transition. 02.16.2012

How Did LEGO Become More About Limits Than Possibilities?

Hard data support old-school fans' objections to the newer, more specialized collections. 02.03.2012

Big Idea: Seeing Crime Before It Happens

Can remote sensors give us Minority Report-like powers to detect people who will soon break the law? 01.23.2012

Mind Over Motor: Controlling Robots With Your Thoughts

A clever new system helps paralyzed patients and computers work together to control a robot, helping to connect locked-in people with the world. 01.04.2012

#5: Social Media Stoke Unrest and Ignite 
Web-Rights Debate

When the explosion in social networking helped topple 
repressive regimes last year, governments worldwide took 
notice, stepping up efforts to limit public Internet access. 01.03.2012

#44: New Pentagon Rules Blur Line Between Digital and Physical Warfare


Under the US's new strategy, the military can prepare for cyber warfare just as it prepares for wars on land. 01.03.2012