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Scientists say our ability to focus is being undermined by bursts of information from e-mail and other interruptions.

Using super-high pressures similar to those found deep in the Earth or on a giant planet, Washington State University researchers have created a compact, never-before-seen material capable of storing vast amounts of energy.

"Scientists reveal the growing atmospheric concentrations of man-made greenhouse gases are driving irreversible and dramatic changes to the way the ocean functions, with potentially dire impacts for hundreds of millions of people across the planet. "

Computer scientists are developing machines that can teach people simple skills, like household tasks and vocabulary.

Tired of status updates from people you hardly know? Pay attention and you might find those weak ties more useful than you think

First came the supermice that could run all day or stand up to cats. Now here come cows that fight terror and pollution-busting pigs

Five scientists spent a week in the wilderness to understand how heavy use of technology changes how we think and behave.

Controlling a computer just by pointing at the screen seems weird at first - but perhaps it's something we are going to get used to

A new process that simultaneously combines the light and heat of solar radiation to generate electricity could offer more than double the efficiency of existing solar cell technology, say the engineers who discovered it and proved that it works. The process, called 'photon enhanced thermionic emission," or PETE, could reduce the costs of solar energy production enough for it to compete with oil as an energy source.

Why ask people what they think of a product when you can just scan their brains instead? New Scientist explores the brave new world of neuromarketing

Digital organisms not only mutate and evolve, they also have memory - so how long before they acquire intelligence too?

The first prototype robots capable of developing emotions as they interact with their human caregivers and expressing a whole range of emotions have been finalized by researchers.

The concept of artificial intelligence clouds our view of the world.

""We've developed the enabling technologies to create upper-extremity prosthetics that are more natural in appearance and use, a truly revolutionary advancement in prosthetics," said APL's Michael McLoughlin, the program manager. "Now, in Phase 3, we are ready to test it with humans to demonstrate that the system can be operated with a patient's thoughts and that it can provide that patient with sensory feedback, restoring the sensation of touch.""

Given a few simple rules and some major computing power, animated characters adopt a human-like gait - and soon robots could too

Today at the Techonomy conference in Lake Tahoe, CA, the first panel featured Google CEO Eric Schmidt. As moderator David Kirkpatrick was introducing him, he rattled off a massive stat. Every two days now we create as much information as we did from the dawn of civilization up until 2003, according to Schmidt. That's something like five exabytes of data, he says. Let me repeat that: we create as much information in two days now as we did from the dawn of man through 2003.

Helium balloons are known for pulling things up, but they could be a great way to drag defunct satellites down to Earth, a team of engineers says.

A new study suggests that cost-effective galactic radio transmissions would be at higher frequencies than SETI projects traditionally monitor, and ET's attempts to make contact would be only few and far between. "If ET was building cost-effective beacons, would our searches have detected them? The answer turns out to be no," says James Benford, president of the company Microwave Sciences in Lafayette, California.

Personal listening devices like iPods have become increasingly popular among young -- and not-so-young -- people in recent years. But music played through headphones too loud or too long might pose a significant risk to hearing, according to a 24-year study of adolescent girls.