Technology, features and articles | Educational Science

Oct 21, 2013

How Twitter Fans Kept NASA Alive During the US Shutdown (Op-Ed)

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Now that the US government is back in business, all “non-essential” services will resume. For 15 days we went without NASA’s full operation, US Antarctic research and federally-funded clinical studies....

Nov 22, 2013

Seeking a Russian Silicon Valley (Op-Ed)

Nikolai Nikiforov, minister of Communications and Mass Media for the Russian Federation, contributed this article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. With more Internet users than anyplace else in Europe, Russia is not exactly a newcomer to the digital superhighway. But a new information technology (IT) roadmap approved by...

Nov 27, 2013

'Warriors 4 Wireless' Program Helps Vets Find Tech Industry Jobs

A new nonprofit program aims to help veterans and returning service members find jobs in wireless telecommunications, as part of a broader goal to have 5,000 vets employed in the expanding industry by the year 2015, according to officials from the Department of Defense. The White House Office of Science...

Dec 2, 2013

Health Check: Is Your Personal Music Player Doing You Damage?(Op-Ed)

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. It’s happened to all of us – you walk past someone and you can hear every beat, riff and wail coming from their headphones. If you’ve ever wondered whether this...

Dec 5, 2013

Metals in Your Smartphone Have No Substitutes (Op-Ed)

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. A few centuries ago, there were just a few widely used materials: wood, brick, iron, copper, gold and silver. Today’s material diversity is astounding. A chip in your smartphone, for...

Dec 6, 2013

Will Your Next Phone Be Fair Trade? (Op-Ed)

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Organic, cage-free or home-grown? We think about our purchasing ethics in many areas of daily life, but not often about technology. As with any product, though, we should think about...

Dec 15, 2013

Tracking the World's E-Waste (Infographic)

The U.S. and China produce more total e-waste than any other country, according to a new map that tracks e-waste around the world. (Image credit: Ross Toro, Infographic Artist) ...

Dec 19, 2013

Communicating Underground Via Chemical Signals

A new molecular communications system could beam messages and data underground, underwater or inside the body, where other forms of communication aren't practical. Plants and animals use molecular signaling all the time, from sweet-smelling flowers to insect pheromones. Bees, for example, use pheromones — signaling chemicals among animals — to...

Dec 22, 2013

High-Tech Santa: 5 Devices to Give Old St. Nick a Boost

Every year, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) tracks Santa Claus' location on Christmas Eve, to the delight of millions who visit the military's website that night. If a high-tech military operation can track Santa, couldn't technology also give the jolly old elf a hand in finishing his rounds?...

Jan 9, 2014

Explainer: After 4G, Why Do We Need 5G Phones?

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Mobile phone users in some nations are just beginning to upgrade to the latest in 4G technology. So it is perhaps surprising to learn that the industry is already working...

Feb 4, 2014

Facebook 10 Years Later: A Look Back

Ten years ago today, (Feb. 4) Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook from his dorm room at Harvard University. Since then, that little startup has become the most popular social network in the world with more than 1 billion users. In the decade since launching, Facebook has changed almost every aspect of...

Feb 13, 2014

17 Developing Countries That Love Social Media More than the US

The U.S. may be the birthplace of Facebook, but Americans are far from the most social-network obsessed people on the planet. Egypt, Russia, the Philippines and 14 other developing countries outpace the U.S. in the proportion of internet users who log on to social sites. The data comes from a...

Feb 13, 2014

How 24 Developing Countries Use Social Media

Internet use is up in developing nations, but going online is still a rare activity in many countries. The Pew Research Center conducted a global survey in spring 2013 that tracked technology adoption in 24 less-developed countries. The results show that cell phones are ubiquitous but smartphones still rare. Texting...

Feb 20, 2014

6 Types of Twitter Conversations Revealed

Twitter amplifies political echo chambers, hobbyists live in isolated bubbles, and a few trusted information sources still set the conversational agenda for breaking news. That's the picture gleaned from tracking thousands of conversations on Twitter, according to a new study. Surprisingly, conversations on Twitter tend to take one of only...

Feb 20, 2014

Smartphone-Piloted Drones Could Support US Troops on Front Lines

Injured soldiers in dangerous or difficult-to-reach combat zones could one day be carried to safety aboard specially designed, smartphone-piloted drones. The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, is developing a military drone capable of assisting troops while avoiding hostile threats on the ground, such as ambushes and improvised...