The author argues that democratic institutions are necessary to help cope with the "future shock" from emerging technological revolutions.

Researchers are close to breakthroughs in neural interfaces, meaning we could soon mesh our minds with machines.

Philip Shropshire evaluates the ETC Group's proposal for a moratorium on nanotechnology development and concludes that while there are dangers from nanotechnology, the best path is to develop it in the open rather than pushing it underground.

Traveling through time may cost less than previously thought, as physicists have found that the amount of an exotic material thought necessary for building a time machine is infinitesimally small.

The genetic blueprints for four strains of phytoplankton -- some of the world's smallest photosynthetic organisms -- have been unraveled, a development that could improve climate modeling and the creation of new energy sources.

The author looks at how the growing use of robots in the workforce and in the military will affect the developing world.

A network of snail brain cells has been cultivated on a silicon chip, an advance that its creators claim is a big step towards microchip implants that can control artificial limbs, restore sight and revive memory function.

A prototype fuel cell has been developed that uses microbes to generate electricity while cleaning wastewater.

An experimental generator that turns sunflower oil into hydrogen has been developed that can safely and efficiently produce fuel for everything from automobiles to homes.

Fossil fuel may not require fossils, as the pressure of deep Earth has been found capable of creating hydrocarbons from inorganic matter. The findings, by an American team of researchers, suggest that hydrocarbons, the main constituents of fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum and natural gas, could be extracted from a virtually endless source.