From planting continent-long forests to inducing rainfall, researchers have begun proposing, testing, and in some cases implementing large-scale geoengineering projects to radically transform the planet.
In a scientific first, neuroengineers have created a system that translates thought into intelligible, recognizable speech. This breakthrough could lead to new ways for computers to communicate directly with the brain.
Using a hot-water drill, British scientists have dug a 7,060-foot borehole through the Antarctic ice sheet. This largest ever ice hole for West Antarctica is meant to improve our understanding of climate-related sea level rise.
The "Future Circular Collider" is conceived as a successor to the LHC, and – if given the green light – it would allow physicists to seek answers to some of greatest mysteries in physics.
An international team of scientists claim to have pulled off a first: Three-dimensional replicas of human blood vessels that are grown in a petri dish.
Organic electronics are set to become more important, they provide the basis for flexible solar cells for example or future electronic paper. A new breakthrough doubles the power.
Researchers at the University of Washington, U.S. have genetically modified a common houseplant to remove chloroform and benzene from the air around it.
Most crops on the planet are plagued by a photosynthetic glitch. U.S. researchers have engineered crops with a photorespiratory shortcut that are 40 percent more productive in real-world agronomic conditions.
In the perhaps not so distant future, surgeons could perform a range of medical procedures all without touching the patient, thanks to advancements in 'acoustic tweezers'.
Researchers analyzing soil from Ireland have discovered that it contains a previously unknown strain of bacteria which is effective against four of the top six superbugs that are resistant to antibiotics.
Professional and amateur mathematicians from a worldwide research project called the Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search (GIMPS) have discovered the largest known prime number.
The volcano that triggered a deadly tsunami in Indonesia late Saturday emerged from the sea around the legendary Krakatoa 90 years ago and has been on a high-level eruption watchlist for the past decade.
"In contrast to what most researchers and clinicians are saying, we are seeing more and more evidence that it is in fact epigenetics, and not DNA mutations, that drives a whole range of early cancers.
Researchers plan to spray sunlight-reflecting particles into the stratosphere, an approach that could ultimately be used to quickly lower the planet’s temperature.
We know a placenta is essential for a successful pregnancy, but we don’t really know exactly how it works because we’ve had no experimental models we can use to study it. Until now.
