Smart Takes

From almost the very beginning, the cries of newborn babies already bear traits of the language their parents speak, according to a new study.

November 5, 2009 12:47pm | By Andrew Nusca

Bad moods can improve judgment and boost memory, according to a new study. Apparently, misery loves productivity.

5 | November 5, 2009 12:32pm | By Andrew Nusca

What will the future of cities look like? Super-connected, smart and much more flexible.

6 | November 5, 2009 12:07pm | By Andrew Nusca

Radioactive waste is seeping from mountain burial sites in the canyons of northern New Mexico and moving toward the area's springs and streams, but officials insist it's not a health risk.

9 | November 3, 2009 11:34am | By Andrew Nusca

The United States is using less water now than during the peak years of 1975 and 1980, despite a 30 percent population increase during the same time period, according to a new U.S. Geological...

7 | November 3, 2009 7:37am | By Andrew Nusca

The spinning blades of wind turbines have been known to scramble the radar waves needed to track airplanes. Two European companies are using radar-absorbing materials to fix the problem.

8 | November 2, 2009 12:21pm | By Andrew Nusca

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is evaluating how to use porous pavement as a rain filtration system to keep pollutants from our underground water supply.

13 | November 2, 2009 11:32am | By Andrew Nusca

Get ready for green plastic bottles and cutlery. Green algae, the photosynthetic organism used as a biofuel, has now been put to use as sustainable bioplastic.

6 | November 2, 2009 9:54am | By Andrew Nusca

Xerox has announced a new ink technology for printing electronic circuitry -- paving the way for digital clothing, flexible displays and signage, lighter e-book readers, solar cells, sensors and...

3 | October 28, 2009 5:10pm | By Andrew Nusca

The world's fastest supercomputer may have been built to model nuclear explosions, but it's now being tasked with simulating the Big Bang and managing more than 10,000 DNA sequences infected with HIV.

1 | October 28, 2009 4:37pm | By Andrew Nusca

Air Force jets and drones could soon send high-quality video and audio of the battlefield wirelessly using high-bandwidth lasers.

3 | October 28, 2009 3:14pm | By Andrew Nusca

Researchers have found that the rise of sea levels in the 20th-century is three times higher than the rise during the last 500 years, lending more evidence that humans are helping induce global...

5 | October 28, 2009 2:56pm | By Andrew Nusca

NASA's newest rocket blasted off on a brief test flight Wednesday, after a day's delay due to poor weather.

1 | October 28, 2009 10:24am | By Larry Dignan

Forty-one of Amtrak’s 44 routes lost money in 2008 and on average the railroad lost $32 per passenger, according to a new report.

33 | October 27, 2009 3:53am | By Larry Dignan

Bank of America is experimenting with annual fees for credit deadbeats that pay off their balance every month.

34 | October 27, 2009 3:40am | By Larry Dignan

Growing up without dad around can affect how your brain develops, according to a new report.

11 | October 27, 2009 3:08am | By Larry Dignan

Two new studies are investigating the capability of bringing feeling -- neural stimulation -- to prosthetic limbs.

3 | October 26, 2009 1:28pm | By Andrew Nusca

Sony has shown off a prototype display that can project a true, three-dimensional image that can be viewed at any angle.

October 26, 2009 12:37pm | By Andrew Nusca

People are subconsciously more fair and generous when they are in "clean-smelling" environments, according to a new study.

October 26, 2009 9:23am | By Andrew Nusca

Southwest Airlines has announced the world's first "green plane," a Boeing 737-700 that's 472 lbs. lighter than a conventional model and saves 9,500 gallons of jet fuel per year.

4 | October 26, 2009 8:19am | By Andrew Nusca