Many previous “dumb” devices are getting smarter with the addition of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and other wireless technologies. Who needs a light switch when you can use an app to turn on the lights from anyplace in the world, right? Adding smarts to a gun safe might not be the best …

OEMs aren’t particularly good at security, but HP’s recent problems deserve some kind of award. The company has been shipping a keylogger on at least 460 laptop models, and while it’s disabled by default, enabling it is as simple as flipping a registry switch. Security researcher Michael Myng (aka ZwClose) …

Our solar system used to have nine planets before the demotion of Pluto to “dwarf planet,” but some scientists think there might still be nine planets. Perhaps we simply haven’t been able to spot the ninth planet because it’s so distant. It’s been almost two years since researchers from Caltech …

Every comet, asteroid, and planetoid astronomers have been able to examine up close is native to our solar system, but scientists have long theorized an interstellar visitor could one day come rocketing through our neighborhood. That’s exactly what happened earlier this year when researchers at the Pan-STARRS observatory detected ‘Oumuamua, …

San Francisco has been home to many quirky, forward-thinking technology startups over the years. There have been services that will fill your gas tank, mail you rolls of quarters, and even more ridiculous things. But delivery robots are just going too far — this is where the people of San …

Verizon will no longer be the exclusive U.S. mobile carrier for watching NFL games on smartphones and tablets. According to an announcement this morning, the company – and TechCrunch’s parent, by way of Oath – says that it has closed a new deal with the National Football League that will …

Facebook’s “Poke” feature has never really gone away, but now the social network is giving it a more prominent placement – and is even considering expanding the set of casual greeting options to include others, like a wink, wave, high-five or hug. Though Facebook had never really discontinued the age-old …

Photo by Ali Inay Already suffering from nightmares that your favorite jeans won’t fit come January? Or that you’ll be sporting double chins in your New Year’s photos? Relax. Even if you’ve already indulged a little too much this year, you can still make it to 2016 without feeling totally bloated.  “It’s not …

New research led by a University of Illinois physicist has proved the existence of a new form of matter — ‘excitonium,’ a solid crystal of excitons. The research, led by Professor Peter Abbamonte, is published in the December 8 issue of the journal Science. Artist’s depiction of the collective excitons …

A team of scientists at Caltech has created the smallest version of the Mona Lisa ever — out of DNA. The work is described in a paper appearing in the journal Nature. DNA rendering of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa viewed with atomic force microscopy. Image credit: Tikhomirov et al. …