Technology

The experimental device sends signals to the brain via the tongue, creating a new mode of optical sensation.

Virgin Galactic has unveiled SpaceShipTwo, the latest in a long series of efforts to commercialize space travel.

Solar Impulse, a solar-powered aircraft, made history this week by becoming the first manned solar plane to take off using its own power.

European scientists claim an Italian amputee is the first to control complex movements of a robotic hand connected to his nervous system.

As access to the Internet grows, so does access to online medical information and misinformation. Some e-patients now trust the Web rather than their doctor.

The Twitter trend has found its way into operating rooms, but not everyone is comfortable with doctors revealing surgical details via the social networking tool.

A popular brand of flour is using the Web to increase traceability, and IBM is set to release a traceability iPhone app, illustrating how technology can influence food safety and aid environmental movements.

Recently re-introduced to Congress, the SKILLs Act aims to help students navigate digital information, and could alter perceptions of the book-bound librarian.

“Recycled” computers and electronics can end up in foreign dumps, or sold to identity thieves. Though U.S. laws do little to regulate e-cycling, you can protect yourself from fraud.

The anonymity of bloggers and online commentators has for the most part been protected under 1996 legislation, but a case involving a college student that criticized his dean illustrates the limits of anonymous free speech on the Internet.

The CIA’s investment arm recently bought a stake in a company developing software that monitors social media conversations. What else has the U.S. Intelligence Community done to harness social media and the Web?

The value of online commenting and methods of moderation are often debated. Which sites are leading the pack, and how have they distinguished themselves from less successful models? 

In many U.S. states, the DNA of those arrested but not convicted is held indefinitely. In Britain, however, the Home Office dropped a DNA database proposal due to strong public opposition and a European court ruling.

The arrest of a student accused of harassing another student through a Web site highlights the hazards of cyberbullying, and the steps that Missouri is taking to better penalize it.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee has apologized for adding the two “unnecessary” slashes to the beginning of URLs. On the heels of his confession, explore the origins of the Web and learn how it works.

OpenStreetMap’s “mapathon” in Atlanta will make the city the most digitally mapped city in the world, and offer that information for free. But can it stand up to Google Maps?

The struggle that those with no home Internet service face when searching for jobs is only one aspect of the digital divide that exists in technologically advanced communities.

One of the worst experiences for a job seeker is hearing, “We’re sorry. The position has been filled.” Meet Twitter, a job seeker’s new best friend.

Early this morning, the Centaur rocket, followed by the LCROSS craft, collided with the moon in an attempt to stir up a plume of dust that scientists hope will reveal deposits of ice on the moon.

Cheryl J. Wachenheim, a North Dakota State University professor, was deployed to Iraq in 2008, but continued to teach classes online from her base in Iraq, highlighting the popularity of online learning.

Exemplifying the slow progress of Internet technology in Africa, a pigeon in South Africa carried a 4 GB memory stick 60 miles in one hour, eight minutes, beating South Africa’s largest Internet service provider at the task by a wide margin.

Imperfect watermelons could be turned into ethanol and used to fuel farm equipment, adding one more fuel source to the do-it-yourself and green fuel movements.

In its ongoing struggle to balance giving users unrestricted editing privileges with its desire to be a credible source of information, Wikipedia is testing out color-coding questionable encyclopedia content.

Wii is gearing up to introduce self-playing computer games and developers are creating AI to play the game “Infinite Mario Bros.,” illustrating how computers may replace a variety of human activities.

Scientists believe a gas giant planet is orbiting so close to its parent star that it will be destroyed or engulfed. If it survives, it will disprove what scientists believe about tidal forces.

The nearly 200-year-old astronomical mystery that is epsilon Aurigae could be solved in the next few years, thanks to amateur astronomers and the Internet.

Wikipedia is imposing editing restrictions on all its living biographies. Some believe the change will make the site more reliable, but others believe that it goes against the egalitarian ideals of Wikipedia and places too much control in the hands of a select few.

The latest Discovery mission will bring mice, a freezer, small furnaces, and another mini science lab to the International Space Station to study how matter behaves without gravity.

IBM scientists have developed a technique that moves them closer to being able to create microchips using self-assembled DNA nanostructures as scaffolding in the arrangement of chip components.

Swiss scientists have found that deception can have an evolutionary advantage among competing robots. Now researchers wonder if anger is the key to making more humanlike robots.