Tech
We summarize the week's science breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Computing
Thousand-robot swarm self-assembles into complex shapes
A swarm of a thousand tiny robots can now self-assemble into complex shapes, suggesting scientists have taken a step forward in engineering collective artificial intelligence
- Physics
Laser identifies explosive powders 400 meters away
Green laser pulse allows researchers to detect molecular vibrations in potentially explosive materials.
- Math
Father-son mathematicians fold math into fonts
MIT’s Erik and Martin Demaine create puzzle typefaces to test new ideas.
- Planetary Science
NASA bets on asteroid mission as best path to Mars
NASA wants to bag an asteroid using robotic arms or an enormous sack and place the rock in the moon’s orbit for study. This may keep astronauts working but not, as NASA claims, get them Mars-ready.
- Computing
Brain-inspired computer chip mimics 1 million neurons
By processing data in parallel, computer chips modeled after the human brain could perform certain tasks, such as pattern recognition, faster and more energy-efficiently than traditional computers.
- Tech
Robots start flat, then pop into shape and crawl
The machines use heated hinges to transform into shape and crawl around.
- Computing
Barrel jellyfish may hunt with new kind of math
Barrel jellyfish use a new type of mathematical movement pattern to forage for food, a new study suggests.
- Tech
With two robotic fingers, humans get a helping hand
Mechanical fingers grasp like the real thing.
- Tech
Small lies in social networks may keep society running
Lying in social networks could have adverse, as well as beneficial, effects depending on the severity of the deception.
- Materials Science
Weird materials could make faster computers
Topological insulators could speed up how computers switch between 1s and 0s.
- Life
Bacteria’s bodies do whirlies to help them swim
Kidney-shaped Caulobacter crescentus bacteria swim with both their corkscrew propellers called flagella and their bodies, scientists say.
- Tech
Wax-coated plastic morphs between soft and stiff
Heat-controlled materials could serve as skeleton for shape-shifting robots.
