Silence holds a paradoxical place in science and in human consciousness. In science, the quietest conditions that modern technology allow are invariably used to research sound.

Using in-car satellite navigation on unfamiliar roads, in bad weather or in heavy traffic can be a bore. But soon it could be as simple as following the car ahead, if a patent filed recently by Microsoft takes off.

A brewery in the States has launched the world’s strongest beer.

Robert X. Cringely:
Last week, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission again bowed to the interests of the big telephone companies, and ruled that those telcos have no obligation to provide other Internet Service Providers wholesale access to their DSL networks.

When students in Leslie Chernila’s English class at the Art Institute of Washington write an essay about the work of Garrison Keillor, she has them send it off to a critic halfway across the country before turning it in. The paper soon returns, complete with comments about structure and word choice.

There’s a thriving black market for highly sensitive, personal and financial details about Australians leaked from offshore call centers operating in India, according to a report by the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

Scientists in Edinburgh have created the world’s first clutch of nerve stem cells in what could prove to be a major breakthrough in the race to treat diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.

California scientists say they’ve found customized Y-shaped carbon nanotubes can compute more efficiently than conventional transistors.