Breaking Science News

A new, invasive species of slug found recently in South Texas serves as a good reminder to thoroughly wash fruits and vegetables before eating them, according to an expert with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.

Replacing traditional rigid silicon wafers with semiconductors made from flexible polymers would herald an age of advanced, 'wearable' electronics. Switching to these semiconductors, known as organic field-effect transistors (OFETs), would also reduce manufacturing costs significantly. However, most plastic materials have trouble moving electrons and their polar opposites—positively charged empty 'holes' inside semiconductor lattices—with sufficient speed for electronic amplification.

(Phys.org) —Thousands of pyrotechnic, flashing fireflies are making a rare appearance in Utah this summer, evidence that these bioluminescent insects may be establishing larger populations in the west, according to Brigham Young University researchers.

Singapore's smog problem from forest fires in Indonesia worsened Wednesday as air pollutant levels reached a 16-year high.

Strapped in an orange suit in his spaceship, Yuri Gagarin smiles as the rockets roar and chirpily tells mission control: "Let's go!"

Satellite TV operator Dish Network Corp. said Tuesday it would not submit a revised bid for Sprint, leaving the path open for the wireless carrier to accept what it already considers a superior offer from Japan's Softbank.

The Cape Wind offshore wind project has secured a $200 million investment from a Danish pension fund in what the wind farm's president said Tuesday is a milestone for the long-delayed project.

Researchers at the University of Sydney and Dartmouth College have developed a new way to design quantum memory, bringing quantum computers a step closer to reality. The results will appear June 19 in the journal Nature Communications.

The World Bank on Wednesday warned that severe hardships from global warming could be felt within a generation, with a new study detailing devastating impacts in Africa and Asia.

Netflix is going Dutch. The online video giant says it will expand into the Netherlands, its 41st country, later this year.

A year ago, Julian Assange skipped out on a date with Swedish justice. Rather than comply with a British order that he go to the Scandinavian country for questioning about sex crimes allegations, the WikiLeaks founder took refuge in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London.

When Google chose New Zealand to unveil secret plans for a balloon-driven wi-fi network last weekend, it cemented the country's reputation as a test bed for global tech companies looking to trial their latest innovations, industry experts say.

Facebook said Tuesday that more than a million businesses now advertise at the leading social network.

Google's plans to beam the Internet from giant balloons sent to the stratosphere could boost small businesses in rural parts of Asia by connecting them online, the company said on Wednesday.

In spite of considerable human development, the southeastern United States region could provide some of the Western Hemisphere's more heavily used thoroughfares for mammals, birds and amphibians on their way to cooler environments in a warming world, according to new research led by the University of Washington.

If you have just seen a play that you privately think is drivel, will you keep silent when everyone around you demands an encore?

Cancer-causing radioactive substances have been found in groundwater at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, its Japanese operator said on Wednesday, as it pledged to prevent it getting into the sea.

The origins of a young animal might have a significant impact on its behavior later on in life. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Radolfzell, Germany, have been able to demonstrate in hand-reared blackbirds that urban-born individuals are less curious and more cautious about new objects than their country counterparts. This study sheds light on an interesting debate on whether personality differences between rural and urban birds are behavioral adjustments to urban environments, or if there is an underlying evolutionary basis to the existence of different personalities in urban habitats.

Controversial deals that delay generic versions of drugs coming onto the market can lead to consumers paying significantly more for some treatments, according to new research by an academic from the University of East Anglia (UEA).

The history of a new type of crab, nicknamed 'The Hoff' because of its hairy chest, which lives around hydrothermal vents deep beneath the Southern Ocean and Indian Ocean, has been revealed for the first time.