Communications, features and articles | Educational Science

Feb 13, 2014

17 Developing Countries That Love Social Media More than the US

The U.S. may be the birthplace of Facebook, but Americans are far from the most social-network obsessed people on the planet. Egypt, Russia, the Philippines and 14 other developing countries outpace the U.S. in the proportion of internet users who log on to social sites. The data comes from a...

Feb 13, 2014

How 24 Developing Countries Use Social Media

Internet use is up in developing nations, but going online is still a rare activity in many countries. The Pew Research Center conducted a global survey in spring 2013 that tracked technology adoption in 24 less-developed countries. The results show that cell phones are ubiquitous but smartphones still rare. Texting...

Feb 20, 2014

6 Types of Twitter Conversations Revealed

Twitter amplifies political echo chambers, hobbyists live in isolated bubbles, and a few trusted information sources still set the conversational agenda for breaking news. That's the picture gleaned from tracking thousands of conversations on Twitter, according to a new study. Surprisingly, conversations on Twitter tend to take one of only...

Feb 20, 2014

Smartphone-Piloted Drones Could Support US Troops on Front Lines

Injured soldiers in dangerous or difficult-to-reach combat zones could one day be carried to safety aboard specially designed, smartphone-piloted drones. The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, is developing a military drone capable of assisting troops while avoiding hostile threats on the ground, such as ambushes and improvised...

Feb 27, 2014

Top Secret: Boeing Unveils Secure Smartphone That Can 'Self-Destruct'

Taking cues from Mission Impossible, aerospace giant Boeing is developing a highly secure, self-destructing smartphone that can encrypt calls, protect stored information, or, if someone tries to tamper with or open the phone's casing, delete all of the device's data. The so-called Boeing Black is the Chicago-based company's first push...

Feb 27, 2014

Walking Can Recharge the Spirit, But What About Our Phones?

This Behind the Scenes article was provided to Live Science in partnership with the National Science Foundation. By the end of 2014, Earth will be home to more mobile electronic devices than people. Smartphones, tablets, e-readers, not to mention wearable health and fitness trackers, smart glasses and navigation devices —...

Mar 3, 2014

A Self-Destructing Phone Isn't the Last Word in Security (Op-Ed)

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Businesses battling to keep their information safe pricked up their ears last week as it was announce that Boeing has produced a mobile phone that self-destructs should the wrong...

Mar 4, 2014

New Device Could Charge Your Smartphone As You Walk

Power cords and batteries are the bane of every gadget: You either carry around the necessary cords and cables, or you hope the battery lasts. But now, researchers want to change that, by building a charger powered by the motion of your body as you walk. The device — built...

Mar 24, 2014

Cells Are Chatty: Here's What They May Be Saying

Living things are chatty creatures. Even when they're not making actual sounds, organisms constantly communicate using chemical signals that course through their systems. In multicellular organisms like people, brain cells might call, I'm in trouble! signaling others to help mount a protective response. Single-celled organisms like bacteria may broadcast, We...

Apr 30, 2014

5 Surprising Ways Drones Could Be Used in the Future

Future Fliers The AR.Drone 2.0 Elite Edition quadricopter comes with a sleek hull (one of two) that is meant for outdoor flying. The hull is 14 inches (35 centimeters) long, and the drone's total diameter is 22 in. (55 cm), including the rotors, in this configuration. The front-facing camera is...

Apr 30, 2014

The Future of Drones: Sky-High Hopes vs. Regulatory Realities

When Raphael Pirker needed overhead shots for a commercial he was filming at the University of Virginia, instead of spending thousands of dollars to rent a helicopter, he attached a camera to a 5-lb. (2.3 kilograms) model airplane, creating a custom drone to capture high-flying aerial views of the campus....

Jun 3, 2014

New Algorithm Can Make Your Selfie Look Like a Professional Photo

Selfies may suddenly start looking much more sophisticated. Pictures snapped with a cellphone camera do not have the expert lighting or composition of museum-quality portraits by famous photographers such as Diane Arbus or Richard Avedon. But it might soon be possible to make selfies look like a professional photographer took...

Jun 6, 2014

Amazon Rumored to Unveil 3D Smartphone This Month

Amazon is releasing a new product later this month, and rumors are circulating that the new device is a smartphone with a 3D display. A YouTube video released by the online retail giant shows people ooh-ing and ah-ing over a device out of view, making impressed remarks such as That...

Jun 16, 2014

1st 'Scent Message' to Be Beamed from NYC to Paris Tomorrow

NEW YORK — Tomorrow morning (June 17), the first-ever transatlantic scent message will be transmitted from New York City to Paris. At the American Museum of Natural History here in Manhattan, Harvard professor David Edwards and his co-inventor Rachel Field will electronically send an image tagged with a scent to...

Jun 17, 2014

You've Got Smell: 1st 'Scent Message' Sent from NYC to Paris

NEW YORK — The first transatlantic scent messages were exchanged today (June 17) between New York City and Paris, and they smelled like champagne and macaroons. At the American Museum of Natural History here in Manhattan, co-inventors David Edwards, a Harvard professor, and Rachel Field showcased their novel scent-messaging platform,...