Charles Q. Choi

A metallic robot hand with "Terminator"-like power sounds good for the movies. But what about a real-life future where that android is now cradling your baby or just shaking your hand?

The oldest fossils of modern humans outside Africa have been discovered in Israel.

New work probes the extraterrestrial source of incredibly powerful explosions of radio waves, investigating why that spot is the only known location to repeatedly burst with these blasts.

The giant ice wall that protects the Seven Kingdoms from the White Walkers is physically unrealistic, glaciologists say.

The world's first nuclear fusion plant has reached a major milestone: Its plasma core is halfway done.

Rising sea levels could threaten Jamestown in Virginia, Kennedy Space Center and Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, among thousands of other archaeological sites in the U.S.

Abominable snowman DNA has revealed the source of possible yeti sightings in Asia.

People's personalities may be shaped by the temperatures of the places in which they grew up, a new study suggests.

The discovery of the little creatures, which lived about 145 million years ago, may push the evolution of this mammal group back dozens of millions of years, the researchers said.

Moments after a wild chimpanzee was born, an adult chimp snatched the infant away from its mother and cannibalized it, according to a new study that is the first to document this macabre behavior.

Neanderthal DNA could influence your skin tone, hair color, sleep patterns, mood and even smoking behavior, a new study finds.

Cloaking technologies could become a reality with a specially designed material that can mask itself from other forms of light when it is hit with a "beam of invisibility."

Smartphone cameras can help detect moving objects even if they are hidden around corners, according to a new study.

Bacterial colonies programmed with synthetic genes can assemble microscopic particles of gold into useful devices such as sensors, a new study finds.

The newly sequenced genome of a female Neanderthal is revealing that our relatives may have passed on genes that today are linked to cholesterol levels, arthritis and other diseases.

The ancestors of modern humans may have gotten genital herpes from the extinct relative of humanity commonly known as Nutcracker Man, a new study suggests.

In experiments, self-folding, heat-activated origami suits created for robots could help the machines walk, roll, sail and glide, according to the new study.

The new finding from Labrador, Canada, represents the earliest sign of life yet on Earth by 200 million years or more, the researchers said.

Neanderthals had larger brains than modern humans, and a new study of a Neanderthal child's skeleton now suggests this is because their brains spent more time growing.

The crew of the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley, the first combat submarine to sink an enemy ship, may have instantly killed themselves with their own weapon, according to a new study.

"Diamond rain" that may shower through the layers of Neptune and Uranus has been created in a laboratory for the first time, according to a new study.