Tech
We summarize the week's science breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Forecasting system predicts peaks in flu outbreaks
A real-time forecasting system has accurately predicted the peak flu cases up to nine weeks before the outbreak.
- Computing
Fastest supercomputers
The new list of the world’s fastest computers, now in its 20th year, has China’s Tianhe-2 on top with a processing speed of 33.9 petaflops — or quadrillions of calculations per second.
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- Physics
Single atoms hold on to information
Minutes-long data storage by individual atoms beats previous record of tiny fraction of a second.
- Health & Medicine
The future of the robotic leg
While robotic legs have come incredibly far, the next step, integrating the function into the rest of the body, still has a way to go.
- Neuroscience
Mind to motion
Brain-computer interfaces promise new freedom for the paralyzed and immobile.
- Humans
Our Final Invention
Computers already make all sorts of decisions for you. Imagine if the machines controlled even more aspects of life and could truly think for themselves.
- Life
3-D printing builds bacterial metropolises
By simulating biofilms, new 3-D printing technique may help researchers study antibiotic resistance.
- Tech
Memory upgrade
The demands of modern computing call for a seismic shift in data storage and retrieval.
- Earth
Deep network
The NEPTUNE observatory — a ring of six underwater research stations connected to the Internet with fiber optic cables — is the first online observatory to brave the depths of the abyss.
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- Tech
Bacterial batteries get a solid boost
Using microbes to harvest energy from wastewater now has a silver lining, with the metal making reliable, rechargeable batteries.
