Tech
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Tech
Scientists grew living human skin around a robotic finger
In the hopes of one day building super realistic cyborgs, researchers built a robotic finger that wears living human skin.
- Computing
The world’s fastest supercomputer just broke the exascale barrier
The Frontier supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee clocked in at more than 1.1 quintillion calculations per second.
- Tech
This camera lens can focus up close and far away at the same time
Inspired by the eye of an extinct trilobite species, the large depth of field can help with imaging techniques to create 3-D photos.
- Tech
50 years ago, the future of solar energy looked bright
In the 1970s, scientists and engineers were coming around to the idea of “farming” the sun’s energy on a large scale.
- Science & Society
Social media crackdowns during the war in Ukraine make the internet less global
Social media has become an important battleground, and now stands to split along geopolitical lines.
- Math
How the way we’re taught to round numbers in school falls short
A rounding technique taught in school doesn’t work well for machine learning or quantum computing, but an alternative approach does, researchers say.
- Science & Society
What made the last century’s great innovations possible?
Science paved the way for antibiotics, lasers, computers and COVID-19 vaccines, but science alone was not enough.
- Computing
Now that computers connect us all, for better and worse, what’s next?
The digital revolution has brought chess-playing robots, self-driving cars, curated newsfeeds — and new ethical challenges.
- Computing
Core memory weavers and Navajo women made the Apollo missions possible
The stories of the women who assembled integrated circuits and wove core memory for the Apollo missions remain largely unknown.
- Computing
Artificial intelligence challenges what it means to be creative
Computer programs can mimic famous artworks, but struggle with originality and lack self-awareness.
- Planetary Science
50 years ago, Arecibo got an unprecedented view of Venus’ surface
Over its 57-year lifetime, Arecibo’s radar system measured the mountains around Venus’ middle, studied the textures of many rocky bodies in outer space and more.
- Tech
Materials of the last century shaped modern life, but at a price
From our homes and cities to our electronics and clothing, the stuff of daily life is dramatically different from decades ago.
