All Stories by Maria Temming
- Chemistry
Why kids may be at risk from vinyl floors and fire-resistant couches
Children from homes with all vinyl floors and flame-retardant sofas show higher levels of some synthetic chemicals in their bodies than other kids.
- Artificial Intelligence
Why a data scientist warns against always trusting AI’s scientific discoveries
Artificial intelligence that helps make scientific discoveries needs to get better at admitting its uncertainty, Genevera Allen says.
- Materials Science
A new insulation material is practically weightless yet still durable
Extreme heat and temperature swings are no match for this lightweight insulator.
- Tech
Robots are becoming classroom tutors. But will they make the grade?
Educational robots show promise for helping kids in the classroom or at home, but researchers are still figuring out how these bots should behave.
- Materials Science
A new fabric becomes more breathable as you work up a sweat
A yarn-based textile can switch from breathable to insulating and back again, depending on how much you sweat.
- Health & Medicine
Pills equipped with tiny needles can inject a body from the inside
High-tech pills equipped with medicinal needles could administer painless shots inside the body.
- Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is learning not to be so literal
Artificial intelligence is learning how to take things not so literally.
- Humans
Here’s what makes satire so funny, according to science
Analysis of headlines from the satirical newspaper The Onion could help you — or a computer — write humorous news headlines.
- Artificial Intelligence
A new AI training program helps robots own their ignorance
AI systems struggle to know what they don’t know. Now scientists have created a way to help autonomous machines recognize their blind spots.
- Artificial Intelligence
This robot learned not to mess with other people’s stuff
Ownership-respecting robots could soon understand the difference between chucking a Styrofoam cup and someone’s favorite mug.
- Tech
Ordinary cameras can now photograph out-of-sight objects
Thanks to a new photo-analyzing computer program, a photographer’s line of sight no longer has to be a straight shot.
- Materials Science
Being messy on the inside keeps metamaterials from folding under stress
Inspiration from disordered arrangements of atoms in crystalline metals may lead to longer-lasting, next-gen materials.
