Apr 15 Are some people wired to fall for placebos? By Nsikan Akpan Some people are born believers. Fake surgeries have been shown to relieve traumatic knee pain; “dummy pills” have wiped away migraines. A new report from Harvard University describes how certain genes predispose people toward believing placebos, or experiencing… Continue reading
Apr 14 Watch 4:57 Mapping dark matter may help solve a cosmic mystery By PBS News Hour We can't see dark matter, but scientists have made the largest map yet of the invisible material that helps make up the universe. Researchers used a dark energy camera and a large telescope to create a color-coded chart of just… Continue watching
Apr 14 Watch 6:49 How drinking water pipes can also deliver electric power By PBS News Hour Hydroelectricity -- using the flow of water to generate power -- has long been a small but key source of renewable energy. How can cities around the country better harness that potential? A startup in Portland, Oregon, has developed a… Continue watching
Apr 13 Watch 7:25 This cement alternative absorbs CO2 like a sponge By PBS News Hour Continue watching
Apr 13 GoPros go on a space walk By Sarah McHaney NASA has released an hour long stunning sequence of footage from two GoPros accompanying astronauts on a February spacewalk. The two astronauts, Barry Wilmore and Terry Virts, were reconfiguring the external port on the International Space Station in preparation for… Continue reading
Apr 13 It may look unusual, but this greenhouse is actually green By Kathleen McCleery When environmental chemist David Stone decided to build a “green” greenhouse for his wife, he chose a material he’d invented, an environmentally friendly substitute for cement he calls Ferrock. Continue reading
Apr 12 A battery that could charge your phone in one minute? Ask Stanford. By Carey Reed Scientists at Stanford University say they have developed an ultrafast aluminum battery that can be charged in as little as one minute. Continue reading
Apr 12 Feds OK Amazon’s delivery drone tests (for real, this time) By Rebecca Lee Amazon has won the Federal Aviation Administration's approval to test delivery drones in the United States, as long as the drones fly no higher than 400 feet and no faster than 100 miles per hour. Continue reading
Apr 10 What it’s like to see colors for the first time By Joshua Barajas Not long ago, I learned that a company called EnChroma had developed glasses that claimed to “correct” colorblindness for red-green colorblind people like myself. So I sent for a pair. They arrived, nestled in a black carrying case, a couple… Continue reading
Apr 07 Watch 6:19 How simple tools can shave hours off food preparation in the developing world By PBS News Hour Kitchen convenience means something different for millions of small farmers in poor countries. A nonprofit in St. Paul creates simple, efficient tools that could save people hours of labor on tasks like threshing grain and shelling peanuts. Special correspondent Fred… Continue watching