Tech
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Astronomy
Pollution is endangering the future of astronomy
Astronomers discuss multiple threats from pollution that will make it harder to observe the night sky.
- Microbes
A new gel could help in the fight against deadly, drug-resistant superbugs
An antibacterial ointment breaks down the defenses of drug-resistant microbes such as MRSA in lab tests.
- Life
Readers wrangle with definition of ‘species’
Readers asked about the definition of "species," a new atomic clock and how a neutron star collision produces heavy elements.
- Microbes
New pill tracks gases through your gut
Swallowing these pill-sized sensors could give new insight into what’s going on in your gut.
- Microbes
These disease-fighting bacteria produce echoes detectable by ultrasound
Ultrasound can help keep tabs on genetically modified bacteria to better fight disease inside the body.
- Artificial Intelligence
Ask AI: How not to kill online conversations
Tips on not being a conversation-killer, courtesy of an AI that studied over 60,000 Reddit threads.
- Tech
Boy robot passes agility tests
Anatomically accurate humanlike robots pave the way for more sophisticated prosthetics and realistic crash-test dummies.
- Astronomy
AI has found an 8-planet system like ours in Kepler data
An AI spotted an eighth planet circling a distant star, unseating the solar system as the sole record-holder for most known planets.
- Tech
Electric eels provide a zap of inspiration for a new kind of power source
Battery-like devices inspired by electric eels could someday power wearable and implantable tech or soft robots.
- Artificial Intelligence
AI eavesdrops on dolphins and discovers six unknown click types
An algorithm uncovered the new types of echolocation sounds among millions of underwater recordings from the Gulf of Mexico.
- Artificial Intelligence
New setup for image recognition AI lets a program think on its feet
Researchers are revamping image recognition programs to better identify familiar objects in new situations.
- Materials Science
New 3-D printed materials harness the power of bacteria
The three-dimensional materials contain live bacteria and could generate wound dressings or clean up pollutants.
