Digital Government

Scientists Identify Drugs' Side Effects by Analyzing Data from Millions of Users

A team of researchers has for the first time found a side effect of a common drug combination by looking at search queries.

Emerging Tech

NASA Lost Communications With the International Space Station

A scary break in communications between NASA on the ground and NASA in space comes during a routine software update. All on board are doing well.

Emerging Tech

What It's Like for Astronauts to Sleep in Space

Strap yourself to a wall and relax. Your arms may float away like a zombie's, but "it's really comfortable," swears astronaut Mike Fincke.

Modernization

What does Google do if the government comes looking for your emails?

The company has clarified a bit about its process for responding to government requests for user data.

Emerging Tech

NASA's beloved Curiosity Rover hasn't even driven a whole mile yet

See how it stacks up with other extra-planetary exploration in one chart.

Emerging Tech

After years of delay, the FCC begins to address phone rates for prisoners

Families can pay up to around $20 for just a 15-minute call with a loved one in prison. Perhaps that is about to change.

Digital Government

Senate drops effort to prevent warrantless email monitoring

In approving a non-controversial bill about video-rental records, Congress had the chance to stop warrantless email searches, but they passed it up.

Modernization

More than half of American homes don't use a landline

With the ascent of mobile, landlines dip back to World War II-era penetration.

Digital Government

Big changes coming to Facebook's privacy controls

The company is trying to make users feel more in control of their posts, all in the name of getting people to share more (and more!).

Digital Government

The year in tech, 2012

The tech landscape changed everything from how we elect presidents to how we fight wars.

Emerging Tech

Google gives $5 million to drone program that will track poachers

If left unchecked, poaching threatens to annihilate some of the world's biggest and most beautiful species. Can UAVs stop the bloodshed?

Emerging Tech

A new way to forecast drought

Satellite measurements of "plant stress" indicated the arrival of drought a month before the U.S. drought monitor.

Digital Government

Agencies are failing to uphold Obama's commitment to transparency

A new report for the National Security Archive shows the majority of agencies lag far behind in complying with a 2009 presidential order.

Emerging Tech

Black marble: The Earth at night like you've never seen it before

“Nothing tells us more about the spread of humans across the Earth than city lights.”

Emerging Tech

What if NASA could figure out the math of a workable warp drive?

A new line of research hopes to drastically reduce the amount of energy required for warping space-time, and get us to Alpha Centauri in just two weeks time.

Emerging Tech

Moon rocks from Apollo 11 are discovered in Minnesota National Guard storage area

Many of the lunar rocks given away following the Apollo 11 and 17 missions have gone unaccounted for and periodically turn up in weird places.

Modernization

The allure of mass Apple gadget thefts

High-profile crimes make headlines for many reasons.

Cybersecurity

Google: 'Government surveillance is on the rise'

In the sixth installment of the company's Transparency Report, Google sees ever greater efforts by governments to monitor online activity.

Digital Government

The places where America's drones are striking, now on Instagram

The rural pockets of Yemen, Somalia, and Pakistan have never felt so close and so far away

Digital Government

Obama's Facebook fans love Michelle; Romney's love winning

Data scraping reveals striking differences between the campaigns' Facebook audiences.