Humanity’s future is in peril thanks to so-called advancements in science and technology, claims Professor Stephen Hawking, who cited“nuclear war, global warming, and genetically-modified viruses” as deadly threats to our existence. Hawking described various “things that could go wrong” to an audience of hundreds attending the first in a series of BBC Reith Lectures, which pertain to research... 

For decades in history space was the giant playground – but only for NASA and the USSR. Now, many nations strive to reach and explore the last frontier. With the enormous costs for the venture, will cooperation prevail over national interests? Are there benefits in the near future – for all of us – in spending so much to get to the orbit? We touch upon all these questions with Director-General... 

The Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) is working to create eco-friendly robots, by incorporating biodegradable “smart materials” that will decompose when the machine’s “lifespan” is complete. Current robot build technology involves materials that are difficult to dispose of, incorporating primarily metal and plastic. Scientists hope that by using new materials, including from food waste,... 

Russia has registered a new Ebola drug that appears to be more effective than all of the other medicines currently being used to treat the disease, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced during a meeting with the Cabinet. “We have registered a medicine for the Ebola fever that, after a series of tests, demonstrates high effectiveness. Its effectiveness is higher than that of those remedies that... 

US President Barack Obama has said that the United States should be the country to win a new global health race and find a cure for cancer “once and for all.” “Last year, Vice President Biden said that with a new moonshot, America can cure cancer,” Obama said during his final State of the Union address on Tuesday, referencing Joe Biden’s remarks last year when he announced not to run for... 

Finding intelligent alien life forms with a far more advanced civilization than that of ours has intrigued human minds for at least the past few decades. Astrobiologists from all over the world keep faith in detecting such a civilization in the near future, even though they are highly speculative about the possible types of complex alien life forms — if any — in other parts of our Galaxy.... 

Each chemical element is made up of atoms with the same number of protons, and since each atom has a unique number of protons, called atomic number, all the elements can be grouped and ordered in a tabular arrangement, known as periodic table of elements. Other criteria for the arrangement are electron configuration and chemical properties. Of the 114 elements arranged on the table, the first 94 occur... 

The US Justice Department has filed a lawsuit estimated to worth $48 billion against German automaker Volkswagen for violating environmental laws. Germany’s leading automaker Volkswagen – that has hit a controversy over an emission control mechanism scandal for four months now – could face up to $48 billion for allegedly violating environmental laws by the US Justice Department. Reuters reported... 

A team of Swiss and Russian physicists have developed a new microchip that can replace the use of complex laser equipment in everything from atomic clocks to telecommunications. A scientist from Moscow State University and his colleagues created a chip that can replace a complex laser system, the press service of Moscow State University said on Friday. “A group of Russian and Swiss physicists... 

The US government’s recent order of Russian rocket engines shows that America has become inferior to Russia in space technology, says an American analyst and former US Army officer. United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing, said Wednesday it had ordered 20 new RD-180 rocket engines from Russia on top of 29 engines it ordered last year. The Russian engines will... 

Driving instructors in the Netherlands can legally trade driving lessons for sex despite being a wealthy nation where its citizens can easily afford to pay the driving lessons with money, government ministers have confirmed. While prostitution is legal in the Netherlands, this controversial form of exchanging sex for services has recently been a hot topic for debate: Some novice drivers have been... 

An outbreak of a virus that doctors believe causes microcephaly in newborns has forced Brazilian health officials to appeal to withhold from getting pregnant. Zika virus is believed to already have caused over 2,700 cases of birth defects. Putting off pregnancy has become a necessity in Brazil, particularly in the northeast, where a dangerous virus transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes dwelling... 

Hydras, simple fresh-water animals, have the ability to live forever if kept in ideal conditions, a recent study shows. The organisms are made mostly of stem cells that have the ability to continually divide, thus constantly renewing the body. “The differentiated cells of the tentacles and the foot are constantly being pushed off the body and replaced with new cells migrating from the body column,”... 

Scientists studying the Red Planet have for the first time detected nitrogen, a component crucial to the existence of life, extracted from nitrate molecules as a result of heating surface sediments, adding evidence that Mars could once have sustained life. Carbon-based life is not possible without nitrogen. The element is required for the shaping of molecules such as DNA and RNA, both of which carry... 

Amazon releases smart device, called Amazon Echo, that will be able to constantly bug all the conversations held in the house. The approximately 12-inch-tall, 3-inch-wide black cylindrical device is part microphone, part computer, that can hear you from anywhere in the room. “I can have the water running, I can be cooking, the TV can be on in the back room, and she still can hear me,”...