Anyone who thinks consumers understand high-definition television should consider a recent survey by Leichtman Research Group. It concluded that close to one-half of the 24 million households with HDTVs don’t actually watch high-definition programs because they haven’t obtained the necessary hardware from their cable, phone or satellite operators.

The patent system is not broken, just not perfect. That is the viewpoint of Jon Dudas, the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

Watermarks date back at least to the 13th century, when paper manufacturers found a way to "mark" sheets with an unremovable, barely-visible signature to denote either the paper’s origin, ownership, or both. Watermarks have come a long way, and companies such as Macrovision and Digimarc have made a king’s ransom offering "digital watermarking technology" to […]

Seismic observations reveal a huge reservoir of water in Earth’s mantle beneath Asia. It’s actually rock saturated with water, but it’s an ocean’s worth of water … as much as is in the whole Arctic Ocean.

Teenagers who use mobile phones for many hours a day - talking and sending messages or missed calls - may develop psychological disorders, says a study that advices "a reasonable use" for positive effects.

Transistors more than four times smaller than the tiniest silicon ones – and potentially more efficient – can be made using sheets of carbon just one-tenth of a nanometre thick, research shows. Unlike other experimental nanoscopic transistors, the new components require neither complex manufacturing nor cryogenic cooling.

Your mother was wrong: Sitting up straight is bad for you. Scottish radiologists confirmed in a study last year that a 130-degree angle of recline between torso and thighs reduces pressure on the discs in the lower back. This (and its sleek design) is why the ubiquitous Aeron chair was so ahead of its time […]

Dexter has two legs, stands 5′10" tall, and weighs 135 lbs. Monty has two wheels, two arms, stands 5′7" tall, and weighs 160 lbs.

This ultra-mobile PC is beautifully designed for every activity from word processing to gaming. But some of the software is taxing

New Zealand fisherman have caught what is expected to be a world-record-breaking colossal squid.

The HTM1010 iViewer offers four channel multi-media streaming over the airwaves to your television set from iPod, digicam, PSP or whatever.

No time to use the Force to make the rain get out of your way?

A barrage of runaway barrels caused carnage after a brewery lorry dropped its load in a quiet Somerset village. (w/pic)

Your low-tech stapler is about to get a huge makeover if Swingline has its way. They’re looking to embed RFID tags onto staples so that when an important (stapled) document goes missing, it’ll be able to radio its location (most likely from underneath your desk) to a nearby tracking device. Now that’s a Swingline I’d […]

In a general allergy consultation practice in Arizona and western New Mexico, 129 patients were tested for immediate hypersensitivity skin test reactivity to marijuana pollen and tobacco leaf, as well as to a battery of other antigens. In all, 90 patients were diagnosed as allergic (atopic) and, of these, 63 (70 percent) were found to […]

Nicotine use is highly addictive in primates, say researchers who conducted an unusual study of squirrel monkeys.

Being female or black is less of a liability for U.S. presidential candidates than being over 72, Mormon, twice-divorced or a cigarette smoker, according to an ABC News/Washington Post poll issued on Tuesday.

Animal lovers in the state of Washington are one step closer to being able to dine out with their dogs. A bill that would allow people to bring their dogs to restaurants passed out of committee Tuesday, but health officials still have some concerns.

Google isn’t just dominating the US search market, but many international markets as well, according to speakers at a February 2007 conference sponsored by Search Engine Watch.

When it comes to fertility and the prospect of having normal babies, it has always been assumed that men have no biological clock — that unlike women, they can have it all, at any age. But…..

Today’s college students are more narcissistic and self-centered than their predecessors, according to a comprehensive new study by five psychologists who worry that the trend could be harmful to personal relationships and American society.

Q: What is the ROI of advertising? A: Stop advertising and find out.

Chinese scientists have succeeded in implanting electrodes in the brain of a pigeon to remotely control the bird’s flight, state media said.

Communist leaders have no plans to allow democracy in the near future because they must focus on economic development before political reform, China’s No. 3 leader said in comments published Tuesday.

The illegal trade of elephant ivory has reached such unprecedented levels in Africa that the authors of a U.S. report published Monday are urging western nations to provide more aid for better enforcement.