As American warfare has shifted from draftees to drones, science and the military in the United States have become inseparable. But some scientists are refusing to let their robots grow up to be killers.
Bioethicists and scientists contemplating the future fear that genetic engineering and other technologies are going to divide human beings into genetic classes that may one day try to destroy one another.
Researchers critique the U.S. plan to deploy specialized air-pollution monitors as a biological warfare early warning system.
Using information from the Geographic Information System (GIS), researchers have created an immensely detailed, three-dimensional, interactive, and constantly updated map of New York City. The map is provoking speculation on its possible usefulness as a template for a virtual world or even as a blueprint for rebuilding a devastated New York City.
The U.S. Air Force Space Command, NASA and other space agencies are seeking more innovative solutions for spotting potential space debris threats and eliminating them before they happen -- or if they do, increasing the odds the satellite will survive by modifying the protective materials used.
The SETI Institute wants the cosmos to know we can play nice. Should we humans receive a signal indicating that another civilization exists elsewhere in the galaxy, the message chief for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence says encoding the concept of altruism in our reply might make for a good first impression.
A Japanese scientist has proposed deploying a giant orbiting space laser cannon to free hydrogen and oxygen molecules from seawater, providing an abundant source of hydrogen fuel for fuel cells.
A radical new method of producing electricity from the Earth's inner heat has been devised by a power plant designer from Texas. Doyle Brewington has designed a long, self-contained turbine shaft called a Power Tube that could tap subterranean heat without relying on geysers and steam vents.
Researchers are developing the technology to harvest the energy that bodies in normal activity produce: heat, motion, flexing and stretching, compression, urine, and body heat. This would solve one of the biggest logistical problems planners face in getting power to equipment in remote places like Afghanistan or the moon.
A project to map the range of surveillance from CCTV cameras in New York City is causing concern that terrorists might use it to avoid detection.