When a scientist announced last decade that he’d built a new form of spacecraft propulsion called the EmDrive that didn’t require conventional fuel, it sounded too good to be true. But the great thing about science is that you don’t have to take someone’s findings at their word; you can test it for yourself. NASA did just that—and while the space agency hasn’t officially released its findings yet, a leaked copy of NASA’s report reveals the EmDrive seems to work as advertised.

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Submitted on November 8th 2016 by zritic with 5 comments

Dr. Cicerone was president of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Submitted on November 7th 2016 by ivangro

Documentary filmmaker and climate reporter Deia Schlosberg was arrested in North Dakota earlier this month. By Julia Wick.

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Submitted on November 5th 2016 by AdelleChattre with 1 comments

Susie Dent is one of the UK’s best-known word experts. In her new book she explores the fascinating alien codes and colourful slang spoken for centuries.

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Submitted on November 6th 2016 by gladsdotter

At its most simple, matter can come in the form of a solid, a liquid, a gas, or plasma. But what if you could combine the fundamental properties of these separate states to create a strange, hybrid form of matter that somehow exists as both a solid...

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Submitted on November 9th 2016 by kxh

We're all busier than ever, but despite our growing to-do lists, we're also more distracted than ever - even when we're trying to block the rest of the world out with music.

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Submitted on November 9th 2016 by kxh with 1 comments

For the first time, physicists have observed a strange molecule called the butterfly Rydberg molecule - a weak pairing of highly excitable atoms that was first predicted back in 2002 .

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Submitted on November 6th 2016 by kxh

Today would have been Mary Morgan’s 95th birthday. By Daniel Oberhaus.

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Submitted on November 5th 2016 by AdelleChattre

We've already learned a lot about the solar system, but sometimes the most fascinating things are what we DON'T know.

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Submitted on November 6th 2016 by rti9

Some neuroscientists are trying to change school and work hours that discriminate against night owls. By James Hamblin.

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Submitted on November 8th 2016 by AdelleChattre

What we can learn about evolution from species who thrive without sexual reproduction. By Kat McGowan.

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Submitted on November 10th 2016 by AdelleChattre with 1 comments

Sagan considers how we can bridge conviction and compassion in dealing with those who disagree with and even attack our beliefs. Although he addresses the particular problems of pseudoscience and superstition, his elegant and empathetic argument applies to any form of ignorance and bigotry. He explores how we can remain sure-footed and rooted in truth and reason when confronted with such dangerous ideologies, but also have a humane and compassionate intention to understand the deeper fears and anxieties out of which such unreasonable beliefs arise in those who hold them.

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Submitted on November 9th 2016 by gladsdotter

National Geographic's new docu-drama Mars, set in 2033, will follow the tales of the first crew to arrive on the red planet. By Meredith Rutland Bauer.

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Submitted on November 5th 2016 by AdelleChattre

When Neanderthal genes made it to humans, they were largely weeded out.

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Submitted on November 10th 2016 by kxh with 2 comments

One small step for monkeys, one potential leap for humans. By Brian Handwerk.

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Submitted on November 10th 2016 by AdelleChattre with 1 comments

The new findings may help solve a deep and abiding solar mystery. By Tom Yulsman. (Oct. 29, 2016)

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Submitted on November 7th 2016 by AdelleChattre with 1 comments

There is a place in the world where all the forces of nature merge and create an environment so unique that there are animals like nowhere else on Earth. Rainforest-covered volcanoes soar out of an ocean filled with vibrant coral reefs, ecosystems meeting to create unrivalled biodiversity. This is the land where Alfred Russel Wallace spent 8 years exploring from 1854 to 1862, and where he made some of the most important scientific discoveries of all time. Wallace played a key role in the discovery of evolution, and also laid the foundations for our understanding of how islands influence the natural world.

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Submitted on November 7th 2016 by Apolatia

A flying wing – first developed in Nazi Germany – could prove one of the best ways to fly over Mars, Richard Hollingham reports.

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Submitted on November 7th 2016 by AdelleChattre

The moon is a familiar sight, but the days leading up to Monday, Nov. 14, promise a spectacular supermoon show.

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Submitted on November 9th 2016 by rti9

Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have discovered a tsunami of stars and gas that is crashing midway through the disk of a spiral galaxy known as IC 2163. This colossal wave of material - which was triggered when IC 2163 recently sideswiped another spiral galaxy dubbed NGC 2207 - produced dazzling arcs of intense star formation that resemble a pair of eyelids.

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Submitted on November 8th 2016 by AdelleChattre