Tech
- Tech
Robo-fly steadies flight with onboard sensor
Scaling a robot to the size of a fly and stabilizing its flight with onboard sensors offers clues to how live insects stay steady in mid-air.
- Life
Genetic mutation quenches quantum quirk in algae
Studying algae that can and cannot use quantum coherence to harvest light could lead to better organic solar cells and quantum-based electronic devices.
- Physics
Energy-efficient laser works at room temperature
A room-temperature polariton laser, which requires little electricity, could improve electronics and medical devices.
- Tech
Scientists struggle to find signals in the noise
Even in a simple system like email, detecting the signal from the noise is not always easy. It can be even more difficult separating a dazzling discovery from dust or whether a breast mass is cancerous or benign.
- Tech
Exoskeleton helps paraplegic kick off World Cup
A paralyzed person wearing a brain-controlled robotic exoskeleton has made the first kick at the 2014 soccer World Cup.
- Tech
Self-driving cars are not a thing of the past
Engineers have not given up on self-driving cars. The focus has shifted from a mechanical approach to using batteries and GPS.
- Animals
See your lawn through a bird’s eyes with YardMap
A new web tool lets you map your outdoor spaces and wildlife habitat, helping scientists understand how birds use urban and suburban spaces.
- Life
A new twist on a twist
Nature abounds with perfect helices. They show up in animal horns and seashells, in DNA and the young tendrils of plants. But helix formation can get complicated: In some cases, the direction of rotation can reverse as a helix grows.
- Tech
Lasers heal damaged rodent teeth
Handheld laser spurs stem cells into action, regrowing dentin in drilled teeth.
- Tech
Coffee beans sing distinct tune
Measuring the crackling noises made by roasting coffee beans could help engineers create automatic acoustic roasters.
- Computing
Diffusion may keep big knots out of DNA
A new computer simulation shows the way two knots on a strand of DNA could pass through each other without adding any additional snarls.
- Planetary Science
The ice of a distant moon
Jupiter’s moon Europa hides a liquid ocean, and conceivably life, under kilometers of ice. The challenge for engineers is how to penetrate that frozen barrier with technology that can be launched into space and operated remotely.
