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4,750 articles from TIME

These Scientists Just Sent Smells via Smartphone

We all agree that the main thing missing from your smartphone experience is the ability to send smells. Right? Well, anyway, a startup called oPhone has come to the rescue and met this pressing challenge. Harvard scientists sent on Tuesday the first-ever “scent transmission overseas,” from an iPhone app in Paris to an oPhone console in New York City. The oPhone is a creation from Vapor...


TUESDAY 17. JUNE 2014


Broccoli-Sprout Beverage Can Detoxify Pollutants

China has a serious pollution problem and it’s harming the health of people who live there—even those living outside of the biggest cities. But scientists from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health think they’ve found a very simple and cost-effective solution. Or at least something that could curb risk. Their answer is a broccoli-sprout beverage. It sounds so simple, and it...

Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Pee in the Pool

Now that summer is here, there’s a good chance you might spend some of your time cooling off in a swimming pool. But, given that the average swimmer leaves behind 30-80 milliliters of urine when they go swimming, there might be more than just refreshment waiting for you in the water. A recent study published in the American Chemical Society journal Environmental Science & Technology...

Leonardo DiCaprio Pledges to Help Save World’s Oceans

Foggy Bottom got a little taste of Hollywood Tuesday, when Leonardo DiCaprio appeared at a State Department event to pledge $7 million to ocean conservation. The Wolf of Wall Street star unveiled the pledge at the State Department’s “Our Ocean” conference, saying the sum would go toward “meaningful” ocean conservation projects over the next two years, funding organizations and...

This Microwave Helmet Can Sense Strokes

Scientists in Sweden have invented a helmet that can identify whether a person has experienced a stroke, the BBC reports. The headwear can further determine what kind of a stroke has occurred, allowing doctors to quickly diagnose and treat patients. The helmet works by bouncing microwaves off a person’s brain and identifying whether there’s a bleed or a clot within it. Initial tests,...

Squid Protein: Our Best Defense Against Chemical Weapons?

A team of researchers at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville has identified an enzyme produced in the bodies of squid that may be effective in breaking down nerve gasses and other deadly chemical weapons. The team’s study, recently published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry, focused on engineering the improvement of these proteins — known as “bioscavengers” — that...

Bachelor Party Discovers 3-Million-Year-Old Elephant Fossil

Some bachelor parties are like the “wolf pack” in The Hangover, wreacking havoc wherever they go; others accidentally end up making valuable contributions to natural history — like one did in New Mexico earlier this month. A group of guys were reportedly hiking through Elephant Butte Lake State Park in Albuquerque when a strange protruding object caught their eye, the Telegraph...


MONDAY 16. JUNE 2014


Greenpeace Lost $5 Million on a Currency Bet

Greenpeace International issued an apology Monday amid reports the environmental organization lost 3.8 million euros, or about $5.2 million, on foreign currency trades. The group said a Greenpeace employee acted “beyond the limits of their authority and without following proper procedure” when entering into fixed rate currency exchange contract while the euro was gaining strength. The...

Researchers Hope ‘Super Bananas’ Will Combat Vitamin A Deficiency

Genetically engineered bananas, packed with micronutrients, are to undergo their first human trial in the United States to test their ability to battle rampant vitamin A deficiency — a large cause of infant death and blindness throughout low-income communities around the world. “The consequences of vitamin A deficiency are dire with 650,000 to 700,000 children worldwide dying … each...

Relax, Polar Vortexes Aren’t Going to Become the New Normal

The polar vortex that plagued much of North America during the winter of 2014 — in which Arctic air dipped unusually southward — caused icily low temperatures, school closures and transportation delays, and had many believing climate change was only going to lead to more cold-weather extremes in the future. But not so fast. A new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change suggests...


SUNDAY 15. JUNE 2014


The International Space Station Is Getting an Espresso Machine

The International Space Station is 240 miles above earth, but that doesn’t mean astronauts don’t have a hard time getting up in the morning — after all, they can make a run to the stars, but not a run to the Starbucks. But the ISS is about to get a little caffeinated pep in its one-small-step-for-man, in the form of ISSpresso, its very own, customized espresso machine. Italian coffee...


SATURDAY 14. JUNE 2014


Watch: Breathtaking Time Lapse Video Shows Star Exploding

Ever wonder what an exploding star looks like? NASA has released this incredible time lapse video showing the enormous explosion of a red star called V838 Monocerotis, located some 20,000 light years away. The breathtaking images were captured by NASA’s Hubble telescope over a four-year period. What makes this starburst even more fascinating is that its origins remains a puzzle, as...


FRIDAY 13. JUNE 2014


NASA Clears 3D Printer for Space Launch

NASA cleared a 3D printer for launch to the International Space Station (ISS) Thursday, a step towards greater self-sustainability and safety on the station. Developed by Made in Space, a tech startup that partnered with NASA for the venture, the 3D printer is designed to function in zero gravity to produce spare parts, crew tools and components of cubesats, a mini satellite for research,...

Here’s What We Can Expect From El Niño This Year

The El Niño weather phenomenon that has previously devastated the Western Pacific and parts of Australia now has a 90% chance of striking again this year according to a recent report by the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). This weather anomaly is characterized by an unusual warming of the Pacific Ocean and has caused intense hurricanes and drought in the past. But what...

There’s a Huge Underground Ocean That Could Explain the Origin of Seas

Geologists have long mused about the origin of earth’s seas. Did water, for example, arrive from somewhere else — like on icy comets that struck the planet? Or did water come from somewhere within? The recent discovery of a subterranean sea, deep inside earth, has scientists excited about the latter possibility. Like something out of early 19th century playwright Jules Verne’s novel, Journey...

Scientists Believe Mystery Behind Balls of Ants May Inspire Robotic Designs

Scientists have long known that colonies of fire ants will join themselves into a collective ball during floods to better their chances of survival, but their ability to form this structure has largely remained a mystery. Now, though, a team of engineers from the Georgia Institute of Technology has studied the properties of the ant ball to discover that the insects strategically placed themselves...


THURSDAY 12. JUNE 2014


Watch the Friday the 13th ‘Honey Moon’ Rise on This Live Stream

MoreThe Best Astronomy Photos of 2014 from the Astronomical LeagueSpaceX: A Ticket to Ride This Friday the 13th, a champagne-colored full moon will appear in the sky, a celestial event that has not occurred in almost a century. The “Honey Moon,” as the June full moon is known, fell on the unlucky day for the last time in 1919. You’ll be able to watch its newest appearance on this...

Paralyzed Man in Robotic Body Suit Will Kick Off World Cup

A paraplegic man in a state of the art brain-controlled body suit will make the first kick of the World Cup on Thursday in front of 1 billion people. Miguel Nicolelis, a Brazilian neuroscientist at Duke University, led a team of 156 researchers to create an exoskeleton that could enable people who are paralyzed to walk, and the technology will be displayed in action during the World Cup’s...

World Cup Mania Makes It to Outer Space

The World Cup begins Thursday in Brazil, and International Space Station crew members celebrated the event’s kickoff by playing some floating soccer. In this video, crew members Steve Swanson, Reid Wiseman, and Alexander Gerst kick around a soccer ball while floating around a room in the space station. Soccer minus gravity would make a poor sporting event — but it makes for one awesome...

If You’re a Strict Parent, Your Kid Is More Likely to Smoke Pot

A study conducted in six European countries reveals that children who have strict parents are more likely to smoke cannabis, as well as use tobacco and alcohol. The team, led by the European Institute of Studies on Prevention, observed the relationships between parents and their children in Spain, Sweden, the Czech Republic, the U.K., Slovenia and Portugal to determine what parenting style best...