Put off by robots whose looks are close to, but not quite, human? This drop in comfort is known as the "uncanny valley," a feeling people get when exposed to robots that try to mimic humans but instead come across as creepy.
Our appetite for salt is programmed into our brains. Now scientists believe that cocaine and heroin are particularly addictive in part because they usurp that programming.
People who describe themselves as “blind as a bat” might want to find a new turn of phrase. It turns out that the mouse-eared bat uses a form of light that most humans cannot see to guide its movements.
People who describe themselves as “blind as a bat” might want to find a new turn of phrase. It turns out that the mouse-eared bat uses a form of light that most humans cannot see to guide its movements.
Pygmy marmosets communicate through whistles and twitters, but when hostile they emit a frightening cry that's audible to peers but inaudible to humans.
Thomas Edison famously said that genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration, words that could well apply to a new machine promoted by UNICEF that turns human sweat into drinking water.
Studies show that watching your friends and family in stressful situations can loosely synchronize your heart rates, a strong manifestation of human bonds.
In the first few months of life, as a baby elephant learns to handle its trunk, the wriggling appendage has a mind of its own—kind of like a human infant’s flailing limbs.
In the first few months of life, as a baby elephant learns to handle its trunk, the wriggling appendage has a mind of its own—kind of like a human infant’s flailing limbs.
A post-apocalyptic tale, in which a lone man fights his way across America in order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving humankind.
As profoundly social beings, chimpanzees need relationships. Just like humans, they cry, whimper, laugh, and hoot to express their emotions and feelings.
A kicked soccer ball can move 10 times faster than the human eye can perceive. Soccer referees are human. That might explain why the most popular game on earth has the least popular officials—they always manage to blow it.
A kicked soccer ball can move 10 times faster than the human eye can perceive. Soccer referees are human. That might explain why the most popular game on earth has the least popular officials—they always manage to blow it.
A kicked soccer ball can move 10 times faster than the human eye can perceive. Soccer referees are human. That might explain why the most popular game on earth has the least popular officials—they always manage to blow it.
A kicked soccer ball can move 10 times faster than the human eye can perceive. Soccer referees are human. That might explain why the most popular game on earth has the least popular officials—they always manage to blow it.
Scientists say that Neanderthals matured more rapidly than homo sapiens, living fast and dying young. By aging slower, humans had more time to organize socially and learn.
Parking structures have long been a rote sort of project meant to pack in cars, but a recent renaissance has shifted this perspective. Garages are now being designed as humanistic spaces key to the urban fabric.
Imagine your heart is failing. Thankfully there's a donor, but it's not human. It's a pig. We're close to successfully transplanting non-human organs, but such procedures raise thorny issues about what it means to be human.
Imagine your heart is failing. Thankfully there's a donor, but it's not human. It's a pig. We're close to successfully transplanting non-human organs, but such procedures raise thorny issues about what it means to be human.
Imagine your heart is failing. Thankfully there's a donor, but it's not human. It's a pig. We're close to successfully transplanting non-human organs, but such procedures raise thorny issues about what it means to be human.
NASA has been showing off it's new wardrobe. The Z-2 spacesuit is only a prototype, but each iteration will advance new technologies that one day will be used in a suit worn by the first humans to step foot on the Red Planet.
NASA has been showing off it's new wardrobe. The Z-2 spacesuit is only a prototype, but each iteration will advance new technologies that one day will be used in a suit worn by the first humans to step foot on the Red Planet.
NASA has been showing off it's new wardrobe. The Z-2 spacesuit is only a prototype, but each iteration will advance new technologies that one day will be used in a suit worn by the first humans to step foot on the Red Planet.
NASA has been showing off it's new wardrobe. The Z-2 spacesuit is only a prototype, but each iteration will advance new technologies that one day will be used in a suit worn by the first humans to step foot on the Red Planet.
These days we're surrounded by large numbers. We're told that there are 7-billion humans on Earth, and that there are upwards of 300-billion stars in the Milky Way. Good luck trying to wrap your head around that!
These days we're surrounded by large numbers. We're told that there are 7-billion humans on Earth, and that there are upwards of 300-billion stars in the Milky Way. Good luck trying to wrap your head around that!
These days we're surrounded by large numbers. We're told that there are 7-billion humans on Earth, and that there are upwards of 300-billion stars in the Milky Way. Good luck trying to wrap your head around that!
In the first few months of life, as a baby elephant learns to handle its trunk, the wriggling appendage has a mind of its own—kind of like a human infant’s flailing limbs.
In the first few months of life, as a baby elephant learns to handle its trunk, the wriggling appendage has a mind of its own—kind of like a human infant’s flailing limbs.
In the first few months of life, as a baby elephant learns to handle its trunk, the wriggling appendage has a mind of its own—kind of like a human infant’s flailing limbs.
These tasks don't sound Olympian — opening a door, climbing a ladder, turning a valve, but they are for robots. If a robot can do these tasks, it could help humans by playing key roles in disaster relief.
These tasks don't sound Olympian — opening a door, climbing a ladder, turning a valve, but they are for robots. If a robot can do these tasks, it could help humans by playing key roles in disaster relief.