An opera featuring rape, torture and masturbation, a nude bass singing an aria in the shower and a cross-dressing hero who rounds off the night by slaughtering a troupe of semi-naked prostitutes has caused a scandal in Berlin.

An extract of prickly pear cactus could herald help for hangovers, quelling some of the wretched symptoms that strike the morning after a night out.

Men who carry mobile phones in their trouser pockets may be at risk of damaging their sperm count, according to research by Hungarian scientists.

Children who watch a lot of television produce less melatonin, new research suggests - the “sleep hormone” has been linked to timing of puberty.

Micropayments are getting traction on the Internet as a way to perform small-ticket transactions such as downloading a song or accessing other online content.

After years of research and testing, Walt Disney Imagineering has perfected a new innovation in fireworks launch technology, marking the pyrotechnic industry’s first major breakthrough in decades.

Even though we create and exchange lots of information electronically these days, there’s always some scrap of paper sitting around begging to be scanned into a computer.

Dave Barry: I have written a blockbuster novel. My inspiration was The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown, which has sold 253 trillion copies in hardcover because it’s such a compelling page-turner. NOBODY can put this book down:

MOTHER ON BEACH: Help! My child is being attacked by a shark!

LIFEGUARD (looking up from The DaVinci Code) […]

The U.S. government has recently awarded patents to such inventions as cashless vending machines, remote-control houses, and, oh yes, Washington Mutual bank branches.

Tim O’Reilly has written up a talk he has given about the open source paradigm shift, which he describes as fundamental and long-term changes in the technology world brought on by the widespread adoption of Free and open source software.