In the 1960s, NASA sent a rejection letter to a hopeful astronaut simply because she was female. At the time, there was no impetus to set up a training program for women. How times have changed: The latest class of NASA astronauts is comprised of 50 percent women for the first time in history, as reported by The New York Times.

The latest people training to be astronauts for NASA were … Read More → "50 percent of NASA’s latest class of astronauts is female"

With rows upon rows of people squeezed into cramped seats, it’s hard not to imagine the clouds of germs that could be circulating throughout the cabin.

Fortunately, 17-year-old Raymond Wang has a solution. The teenage scientist created a small device that he says could increase fresh air inhalation on airplanes by as much as 190 percent.

In a recent TED Talk, Wang explained that each time a person sneezes on an airplane, that sneeze circulates the entire … Read More → "Teenager develops new system to stop the spread of germs on airplanes"

There’s a flower garden on the International Space Station. Oh, it’s meant for scientific research. But the newborn results are pretty!

The project examines how different plants grow in microgravity. This orange zinnia that just bloomed is a challenge to grow in space. The experience of cultivating it will help scientists learn how to grow more challenging–and edible–plants in microgravity.
via Read More → "This is the first flower grown in space"

A team of researchers from the University of Michigan has developed a new technique to aid bone repair, using polymer nano-shells to deliver microRNA molecules. The method could one day have a big impact on regenerative medicine, directing cells already present at injury sites to aid healing.

The new study builds on previous research conducted back in 2011, where nanofiber microspheres were used to carry cells to injury sites to help the wounding process. The new work … Read More → "Scientists use polymer nano-shell treatment to order bones to repair themselves"

Good news for the artistically challenged among us: Scientists have developed a unique polymer that can be programmed to fold itself into complex shapes. While the polymer wasn’t invented to be used in craft projects, according to results published in the journal Science Advances last week, its origami applications are a neat way for researchers to demonstrate the material’s capabilities.

The rubbery, shape-shifting polymer responds to external stimuli& … Read More → "This shape-shifting material folds itself into origami"

Over the years, mathematicians have made some pretty important contributions to our lives, ranging from Pythagoras’s geometric calculations to John Nash’s game theory. Now, scientists have finally turned their attention to one of life’s truly big questions: What’s the best way to cut a pizza?

This is not, in fact, the first time that the issue has been broached, with L.J. Upton … Read More → "How to cut pizza, according to mathematics"

In 2012, talented percussionists from the Irkutsk, Russia group Ethnobeat gathered together in -20 Celsius weather, 6 hours from their home, in order to make beautiful musicupon the frozen waters of Lake Baikal. The Siberian lake is known as the oldest, deepest and clearest lake in the world, which made for a beautiful array of sound as the ice was drummed, cleared and smashed.
… Read More → "Percussionists make music upon the frozen waters of Lake Baikal in Siberia, Russia"

Can you hear a little quiver in your own voice? It could make you feel even sadder. A new study published in the journal PNAS finds that emotions don’t just influence how we talk; how we talk can influence our emotions. 

Led by a researcher from France’s National Center for Scientific Research, a group of scientists tested how 100 Japanese and French speakers reacted when their voices were changed in … Read More → "Your tone of voice affects how you feel"

Classical music and heavy metal fans might not be different after all. New research by scientists at Heriot-Watt University has found that not only are peoples’ personalities linked to their taste in music – classical and heavy metal listeners often have very similar dispositions.

“The general public has held a stereotype of heavy metal fans being suicidally depressed and a danger to themselves and society in … Read More → "Science suggests metal fans and classical fans are identical personality-wise"