All Stories by Kathryn Hulick
- Tech
Bye-bye batteries? Power a phone with fabric or a beacon with sound
New piezoelectric systems produce electricity in unusual ways, such as when a certain nylon bends or underwater ceramics vibrate.
- Tech
New device tells smiles from frowns — even through a mask
Most facial-recognition software has to see the whole face to work. The new type can reconstruct an entire expression from just viewing your cheeks.
- Tech
Ordinary paper turns into flexible human-powered keypad
Engineers have figured out how to turn sheets of paper into rugged, low-cost electronic devices, such as a computer keypad.
- Psychology
You should guess answers to your homework before searching online
Over a span of 11 years, an increasing share of students performed more poorly on exams than on their homework. Online homework help may explain why.
- Health & Medicine
Healthy screen time is one challenge of distance learning
How you use screens is more important than the amount of time you spend on them. Sit less, experts say, and use those screens mainly to learn and engage with others.
- Animals
Are coyotes moving into your neighborhood?
How do coyotes survive in New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago? Researchers and citizen scientists are working together to find answers.
- Tech
A robot referee can really keep its ‘eye’ on the ball
Have you ever yelled at a referee for making a bad call? Technology has begun taking over some calls in an attempt to make sports fairer.
- Plants
Silk-based microneedles may help treat diseased plants
Engineers have invented silk microneedles to inject medicines into plants. One day farmers might use drones to dart their sick plants with meds from the air.
- Health & Medicine
The science of ghosts
One in five Americans say they’ve encountered a ghost. But science has no evidence that ghosts are real. Here are more likely explanations.
- Agriculture
As infections ravage food crops, scientists fight back
Diseases threaten important food crops like cocoa beans, wheat and citrus. Scientists are working to understand these infections — and fight back.
- Science & Society
You can fight back against cyberattacks
Cyberattacks have cut power to a major city and delayed the delivery of medicine. Find out how experts combat such attacks and how to protect yourself.
- Space
On the lookout for micro-missiles from space
Speeding specks of space dust can damage spacecraft. But if they make it to Earth, these tiny rocks can offer lessons on how the solar system formed.
