Tech
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Planetary Science
Readers contemplate water on Mars and more
Readers had questions about the significance of finding water on mars, air pollution from wildfires and spray-on sensors.
- Tech
These new superthin antennas are made from metallic nanomaterials
Superthin antennas could bring household devices and wearable technology online.
- Materials Science
High-tech ‘skins’ turn everyday objects into robots
Robotic skins turn inanimate objects into multipurpose machines.
- Tech
A sensor inspired by an African thumb piano could root out bogus medicines
An inexpensive, user-friendly device that’s based on an mbira could help identify counterfeit and contaminated medications.
- Tech
This flying robot could reveal secrets of the aerial world of insects
A new winged robot with the exceptional agility of a fruit fly could lend insight into animal flight.
- Materials Science
Here’s how graphene could make future electronics superfast
Graphene-based electronics that operate at terahertz frequencies would be much speedier successors to today’s silicon-based devices.
- Astronomy
‘Accessory to War’ probes the uneasy alliance between space science and the military
Neil deGrasse Tyson and Avis Lang’s ‘Accessory to War’ grapples with the millennia-old partnership between space science and warfare.
- Physics
The strength of gravity has been measured to new precision
Researchers have measured Newton’s gravitational constant, known as Big G, with the greatest precision yet.
- Particle Physics
Electrons surf protons’ waves in a new kind of particle accelerator
For the first time, scientists accelerated electrons using plasma waves from proton beams.
- Quantum Physics
Quantum computer simulates two types of bizarre materials
In calculations involving about 2,000 quantum bits, a D-Wave machine reproduced the behavior of exotic substances.
- Chemistry
Lithium-oxygen batteries are getting an energy boost
A new version of the lithium-oxygen battery could pack more energy and last longer than its predecessors.
- Particle Physics
Ghostly antineutrinos could help ferret out nuclear tests
Antineutrino detectors could one day help reveal stealthy nuclear blasts.
