We’ve all worried about artificial intelligence reaching a point in which its cognitive ability is so far beyond ours that it turns against us. But what if we just turned the AI into a spineless weenie that longs for our approval? Researchers are suggesting that could be a great step towards improving the algorithms,…
Scientists have long understood that dogs with flat faces like pugs and bulldogs are the result of out-of-control selective breeding. But they’ve yet to discover the exact genetic mutation that’s responsible for the physical traits of these dogs. A new study has gone a long way towards finding the answer and could…
In a breakthrough that almost sounds too good to be true, researchers have found a potential new form of birth control that could solve numerous problems. It offers the possibility of being effective for both sexes, no hormonal side effects, and might even be a Plan B that doesn’t piss off anti-abortion advocates.
Microdosing weed has become a minor trend with humans lately, but the science on its actual benefits is fairly shaky. Now, in a newly published study by a group of scientists in Germany, evidence shows that older mice may experience a reversal of brain aging and a restoration of the ability to learn.
Catnip has long been the preferred fix for cats. Given just a tiny whiff of the plant, most cats will temporarily turn into an approximation of a fully loaded, 1970s era Dennis Hopper. But for some cats, it’s as pointless as an O’Douls. A new study has found three new options that could allow all cats to get totally…
According to a new report from the United Nations University, higher incomes and more affordable prices have lead to an enormous jump in the levels of electronic goods being dumped in Asia. A five-year study found an average increase of 63% in e-waste across 12 countries.
Generally, a shell is an evolutionary trait that allows a creature to retreat from predators. This is the case for almost all snails. But at least two species of snails use their shell in a much more active form of defense—knocking the crap out of predators.
Speculation about Russia’s interference in the U.S. Presidential election has run rampant throughout the campaign. Now, researchers from two independent groups have confirmed that Putin’s minions wielded a complex misinformation apparatus to unleash a “firehose of falsehood” on the American public.
Go get your freak on, because athletes can officially have sex before the big game without feeling guilty. A new study from researchers published in Frontiers in Physiology claims that there “is no robust scientific evidence to indicate that sexual activity has a negative effect upon athletic results.”
It’s not news that smartphones, tablets and e-readers emit a blue light that can keep us up when it’s time for bed. But in addition to abstaining from screens an hour before bed, experts say that all gadgets should have a “bedtime mode.”
Outside the Florida Everglades, cougars haven’t lived east of the Rockies in over 100 years. But, a new study finds there’s a strong likelihood that states like Illinois, Missouri and Wisconsin could become home to healthy populations of the large carnivores in the next few years.
According to a detailed study from Ofcom, the UK version of the FCC, different generations have vastly different attachments to internet devices: the grandparents can’t live without the TV, and (surprise surprise) you’d have to wrest the smartphones from millenials’ cold, dead hands.
The best whisky on Earth is headed into space.
Hate to break it to you, Bible thumpers: Parents who raise their kids without religion are doing just fine, studies say, possibly even better. Overall, not believing in God seems to make people and their offspring more tolerant. Less racist. Less sexist. Enviro-friendly. And their kids care less about what's cool,…
In a way, what you do in the privacy of your own home is literally Ikea's business. So it's no surprise that the Swedish company spends a ton of time and money studying how people live. What is surprising, though, is what its latest study found out. Including the fact that you're not the only one who reads their phone…
A new federal study proves that gays are having a hard time renting a place to live—especially male gays. Landlords are less likely to rent to gay men couples, the Housing and Urban Development study reveals. Lesbian couples also face discrimination, but not quite so much.
Biomimicry borrows design solutions from the embedded intelligence within animals' bodies—chiefly from other species. But occasionally, it also borrows from within the human body. For example, a new study from MIT suggests that buildings of the future could be built with super-strong materials based on the structure…
A new study proves that women who don't seem to know much about cars are quoted higher prices for automobile repair than men. But women calling about the hypothetical repair who "indicate they have done research online and know the market rate to replace the radiator" got the same price as men.
By conventional wisdom, the things we own don’t define us—no matter how much we hope they will. But according to science, there are some reliable correlations between who we are and what we own.
Researchers now have a hypothesis for the reason your 4-year-old niece insists on telling you the same story over and over every time she sees you. Alas, there are no new findings on how not to look bored.
