Stories

This week's question concerns a recent news item about how a Utah woman injured by a motorist while following a Google Maps route has filed a lawsuit claiming Google supplied unsafe directions (the motorist is also named in the lawsuit). The woman used her phone to download...

DOE recently announced two solid-state lighting (SSL) funding opportunities. DOE will select projects to receive up to $25 million to advance research, development, and market adoption of SSL technology. Up to $15 million is available for core technology research, and up to $10 million for product...

This week's question concerns synthetic biology research. A study published online by the journal "Science" details how scientists at the J. Craig Venter Institute recently developed the first viable cell controlled by a synthetic genome. According to the researchers, the cell is called synthetic...

“It doesn’t matter where you are, it doesn’t matter where you go, If it’s a million miles away, or just a mile up the road. Take it in. Take it with you when you go. Who says you can’t go home?” So says New Jersey-born rocker Jon Bon Jovi in a hit song he penned several years ago. I don’t know if...

This week's question concerns the concept of time travel. Usually the topic of science fiction books and movies, two of the world's most respected physicists, Stephen Hawking and Michio Kaku, assert that time travel could become a scientific reality. In a recent AOL Science article, both scientists cited Einstein's belief...

This week’s question concerns the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. After a rig leased by BP Plc exploded and sank last week in the Gulf, many have indicated that the President may experience a setback in his plan to expand offshore drilling. The plan is...

This week's question concerns the concept of "digital actors." They've appeared in "Avatar," "The Matrix," and "The Lord of the Rings," to name a few. And with the recent surge of 3D technology in filmmaking, it appears that digital actors will be working a lot more in Hollywood. What do you...

This week's question concerns "net neutrality" -- providing equal treatment to all Internet traffic flowing over networks. Supporters of net neutrality argue that a policy is necessary to prevent providers from favoring or discriminating against certain Web sites and online...

This week's question concerns the issue of gene patents. While some in the scientific community believe that human genes should not be exploited for commercial gain, others argue that a patent is a reward for years of expensive research that moves science forward. What do you think? Should human genes be...

This week's question concerns the concept of cold fusion. Cold fusion refers to the nuclear fusion of atoms at conditions close to room temperature, which (theoretically) has the potential to produce an abundant source of energy at low cost. Once thought of as "junk science," cold fusion is slowly gaining acceptance in the...