Drought-stricken Los Angeles County fired silver iodide into clouds during this winter's El Niño as part of a process designed to elicit up to 15% more rainfall. This form of weather-manipulation is called cloud-seeding.

The Federal Highway Administration has rescinded its approval for the use of an alternative roadside typeface called Clearview, once again making the 70-year-old Highway Gothic typeface the single standard for directional signage.

Norway announced plans this week to construct a system of cycleways safely connecting nine of its biggest cities to outer suburbs. The project is estimated to cost just under $1 billion and is part of a broader transportation initiative to be completed by 2030.

All teachers should strive to instill in their students the ability to think rationally and clearly communicate their conclusions. One educator has recommended using heavy metal as a focal topic in teaching sound thinking. 

New bikes could be on their way to your local bikeshare system. PBSC Urban Solutions, the largest supplier of bicycles and stations in North America, has unleashed a pair of brand-new models designed to give riders a broader choice of how they use the system.

A Spanish collective has transformed an old abandoned church into La Iglesia Skate: a modern skatepark and cultural center, complete with a brand-new paint job by renowned interior artist Okuda San Miguel.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg defended the tenets of encryption and privacy yesterday in an event in Spain. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates was much more opaque when asked to describe his opinion.

You'd think in the age of Uber and Airbnb someone would have figured out how to put Big Textbook in its place. Unfortunately, it's a lot more complicated than just waving a magical disruption wand and putting Follett out of business.

A learning collaboration between Pixar and Khan Academy helps aspiring animators familiarize themselves with the basics of the craft. The free course is called Pixar in A Box.

The self-driving car is the future of personal transportation. Wireless charging is the future of battery-powered devices. Marrying the two technologies makes sense.

College textbooks are a racket. Financial aid infrequently covers their cost. A significant percentage of students are forced to use credit cards to purchase them. This is one of the unseen contributors to student debt.

A record number of American convicts were exonerated in 2015. Most of them were minorities, many mentally handicapped. A new report presents data that suggests there are hundreds (potentially thousands) of other innocent people behind bars in the United States.

European metropolises in the Netherlands and Denmark dominate the annual rankings of top bicycling cities, due mostly to major investment in cycling infrastructure. These cities' dedication to bicycling leads to major environmental, economic, and health benefits. American cities such as Minneapolis and Portland, Oregon, have made major infrastructure improvements in recent years.

Rural states dominate the list of those most dependent on the $43 billion firearm industry for jobs, tax revenue, political contributions, and gun ownership, a fact that could prove decisive for Bernie Sanders this month.

Professional women are at a disadvantage due to what's called "the confidence gap," an idea popularized by Claire Shipman and Katty Kay. Shine is a new company that seeks to close that gap one text message at a time.

Designed by Uruguayan-born, New York-based architect Rafael Viñoly, the new Laguna Garzón Bridge aims to reduce the speed of crossing cars and encourage drivers to enjoy the view.

Ontological design is way cool.

The Chinese middle class is growing, and its members need a place to live.

The American Hispanic electorate is growing rapidly, but facts about voting trends among minorities and youths indicate they're still years away from holding real power.

Researchers strive for technology designed for extrasensory perception.

Indiana Jones would have been a lot less irritable if he had access to machine learning.

New research demonstrates for the first time the domestic canine's ability to discern between positive and negative emotions in humans.

Part art installation, part green design. Completely cool.

A new study shows that preventative care has curbed fatal cases of treatable types of cancer, though other forms of the disease still present a serious mortal danger.

The implications of this new research could eventually extend to giving the mute the ability to speak.

Out with the old, in with the new.

If you're the kind of person who chronically abandons New Year's resolutions, try "temptation bundling" in 2016.

All remaining research chimps will be retired and relocated to sanctuaries.

In cities where defunct industry caused a population exodus, officials may be competing for immigrants. 

The Icelandic prison system is about to welcome the 26th banker responsible for the 2008 financial meltdown.

Excavators found the bones of an ancient warrior surrounded by "lots of bling," bronze weapons, and — interestingly enough — several vanity items such as a mirror and six combs.

An ill-timed, tone-deaf tweet is excusable. An ill-timed, tone-deaf ad campaign isn't.

In order to bring conflicting countries closer together mentally, experimental philosopher Jonathon Keats wants to bring them closer together physically. He proposes action that would speed up Earth's tectonic activity and lead to the rapid formation of a new supercontinent.

The world's first research journal dedicated solely to cryptocurrency launched last month. It's a sign of the times as academics begin tinkering with the study and theory of digital currency.

You can get as much done in six hours as you can in eight hours, but with much less wasted time.

Innovation isn't always the result of invention and discovery. Sometimes the best way to innovate is to rethink something old.

The man with "the hardest job in Washington" abruptly announced his resignation the day after fulfilling his personal dream: hosting a sitting pope in Congress.

Astrophysicists contemplate whether "mirror" dark matter causes cancer.

Despite its many weaknesses, the U.N. has been successful in one of its main pursuits: linking the countries of the world in a way that promotes peace. Could a similar model work for religion?

The Star Trek computer is close. Phasers can't be far behind.

New findings out of Duke University will allow medical researchers to act like computer programmers except with genetic code rather than digital.

It can diminish the quality of your work in the long-term.

Prepare to watch Democrats and Republicans fight over ownership of the pope and his air of moral legitimacy: Let the Great American Papal Tug-of-War begin!

Many efforts to develop family-friendly workplaces emphasize rights and privileges for mothers. Some dads are pushing back; some even resorting to legal means.

Volvo is spearheading an effort to develop refuse robots and tech-enhanced dump trucks to revolutionize waste management.

Mark Zuckerberg flip-flops on a feature he once described as not "socially valuable."

We're not living in the most discourse-friendly age in history. Nowhere is that more clear than in comments sections.

Pulling an all-nighter and then driving home is like hopping behind the wheel after pounding drinks at the bar.

Thanks, New Horizons. You're our favorite deep-space, Pluto-passing probe.

Researchers hope training machines to the test will allow for advances in imbuing software with basic common sense.

Leaders at the Federal Reserve will meet later this month to discuss potential rate hikes that have most experts and economists split.

The quality of discourse over the new logo has skewed toward the low social media standard, although there are some smart and introspective things to be said for and about Google's sudden shift.

Scientists are becoming increasingly certain that all the stuff we put through our digestive system is making a major impact on our state of mind. 

Recent trends in the habits of romantic millennials appear to buck conventional wisdom and well-regarded theories of communication.

Say goodbye to being the smelly dude on the plane.

Did you know 30 percent of job recruiters have had a parent submit a résumé for their child? Or that girls tend to be helicoptered more than boys?

A new web series delves into the many reasons why eating creepy crawlers makes sense for your diet and the environment.

Researchers attempt to distill the science of dirty talk, submissive sexual activity, and the overall nature of arousal.

As far as health risks go, sleep disorders tend to fly beneath the radar. Researchers are trying to change that.

Open borders would lead to a massive wave of immigration and probably the collapse of American constitutional democracy... though one economist says that's not a bad thing.

In a study that challenges conventional wisdom, two researchers determine that deftly playing office politics has a tendency to backfire.

America has a big problem mistaking courage for cowardice and it stems from a fundamental misunderstanding of bullies, according to The Baffler's David Graeber.

With self-driving cars as well as other new tech, Apple and Google maintain starkly different corporate values with regard to transparency.

One of the planet's most well-known car cities is gearing for a transportation reboot.

Researchers at MIT want to build a compact fusion reactor that could potentially produce near inexhaustible energy by the end of the decade.

While the world's most popular cryptocurrency has allowed for an innovative new approach to online transactions, it's also emboldened criminals to develop creative new ways to skirt the law. 

On this week's episode of Brand Deathmatch: Vanity Fair vs. Tinder.

President Barack Obama, charismatic as he is, has stumbled in the past when taking to new media to engage American citizens. He's much better at writing letters than answering questions on Reddit.

Getting married by a priest or at a courthouse can feel underwhelming. Experimental philosopher Jonathon Keats wants to revolutionize the wedding by ditching the boring old officiants and replacing them with quantum physics.

It's not breaking news that the universe is slowly dying. It is significant that scientists have been able to finally measure the degree to which it's dying. Let's just say you should push up any appointments you might have 100 billion years from now.

Department of Corrections is a misnomer. At the present, DOCs across the country shun from the responsibility to make convicts better people.

Nashville-based Ride for Reading began as an elementary school teacher's endeavor to put books in the hands of low-income children.

You'd think divorce lawyers would be making a killing over something like this. Apparently not.

Professionals who value what they're worth don't do favors for business associates. You want a favor? Go to a party.

Recent trends in the tech sector suggest the liberal arts degree is making a major comeback.

The rats, which are trained to sniff out TNT, are among the most efficient tools available to Cambodians trying to rid their country of over 4 million landmines left over from the Khmer Rouge.

The court of public opinion has never been stronger than in our current social media age. But does the brand of justice it dishes out improve upon or subvert the rule of law?

The Americans with Disabilities Act took effect exactly 25 years ago today. What is its legacy?

When Microsoft's Windows 10 is released next week in seven countries, each market will receive a specialized version of Cortana, the system's digital personal assistant (and Microsoft's answer to Siri). Microsoft has put yeoman's work into making sure each country's iteration of Cortana is sensitive to local cultural nuances.

A new social media service designed by a Mumbai teenager promises to allow users to "hear the world speak."

The first injury accident involving a Google self-driving car was — surprise, surprise — the fault of an oblivious driver in the other vehicle. Self-driving technology offers a potential future where these sorts of incidents hardly ever occur.

Infants whose mothers used drugs during pregnancy are often born already addicted to those substances. After birth, an analysis of the detached umbilical cord can determine what severe physiological withdrawal symptoms can be expected.

Not everyone has the opportunity to ride a bike to work or school, but those who do would improve their health and save quite a bit of money.

How do you win a cyberwar against an Internet-savvy enemy like ISIS? One prominent researcher has suggested a troll-based battle strategy. That's right: internet trolls. Could World War III be fought with memes?

A tour de force article by The New Yorker's Kathryn Schulz details a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami that could leave a region home to millions of people in absolute ruins.

More than a million Americans per year elect to go abroad for expensive medical procedures, building a vacation that, in total, costs less than being treated at home.

The only thing more disturbing than an unfamiliar Atticus Finch is the dubious story behind the decision to publish Harper Lee's "found" work.

Your Facebook feed is a virtual echo chamber. It serves the same purpose as Fox News or MSNBC.

A school district in Iowa is one of the first to outfit its administrators with body cameras. Their use should ease tensions with regard to transparency and accountability, but not everyone is happy with the precedent they set.

If you want a vivid barometer for the health status of worldwide marine ecosystems, look no further than the global seabird population. Unfortunately, new research estimates that the global seabird population has dropped 70 percent since the 1950s. That's not good.

The coming decade will see an emergence of new innovations that will keep drunk drivers off the road without the inconvenience of existing breathalyzer technology.

Dermatologists are taking advantage of smartphone technology to offer data-driven, personalized skincare recommendations.

The children of overbearing parents are less likely to develop essential life skills and are more likely to be medicated for depression or anxiety in college.

Bill Nye said the Rosetta mission would lead to amazing discoveries we hadn't yet even thought of. He might have been more right than he imagined.

A company's most valuable asset is its workforce. Just ask VoloMetrix CEO Ryan Fuller, who evangelizes people analytics as a tool to improve company culture and raise the bottom line.

The space agency seeks to index the parts of the Internet Google won't show you.

You can't expect to foster effective K-12 education using outdated and analog methods to educate kids raised on digital.

Nowhere in American politics do cultural proxy wars play out more vividly than in the chambers of the United States Supreme Court.