Engineering Design
- Animals
Here’s why cricket farmers may want to go green — literally
Crickets are great sources of protein, but they often kill each other in captivity. Green light could help solve the problem, two teens find.
- Tech
Teen-designed tech could expand access for people with disabilities
Several inventors at the 2022 Regeneron ISEF competition offered creative solutions that translate sign language and help blind people navigate.
- Chemistry
Reusable plastic bottles release hundreds of pollutants into water
Data show the plastic ends up tainting drinking water. For now, scientists don’t know what health risks downing these pollutants might pose.
- Health & Medicine
Patches and robotic pills may one day replace injections
Instead of a shot in the arm, a light-activated patch or robotic pill may one day deliver your medicine.
- Space
We finally have an image of the black hole at the heart of our galaxy
New observations from the Event Horizon Telescope reveal the chaotic region around the Milky Way’s central black hole, Sagittarius A*, in extreme detail.
- Environment
Bubbles could help remove trash from rivers
One young engineer devised a way to make bubbles sweep away the trash floating down a creek, like the one in her backyard.
- Plants
Electric shocks act like vaccines to protect plants from viruses
To protect crops against viruses in their home country of Taiwan, two teens invented a novel approach to fight blights.
- Chemistry
Let’s learn about cellulose
The world’s most abundant natural polymer is finding all kinds of new uses, in everything from ice cream to construction.
- Health & Medicine
Like bloodhounds, worms are sniffing out human cancers
Scents emitted by diseased cells may usher in a new era of safe, low-cost screening tests for cancer and other illnesses.
- Tech
Smartphones can now bring Ice Age animals back to ‘life’
Scientists bring Ice Age creatures to life with augmented reality. You can view these creatures in your own world on a smartphone.
- Chemistry
Cellulose may keep ice cream from turning gritty in your freezer
Adding nanocrystals extracted from wood avoids the growth of ice crystals, keeping your treat smooth and creamy.
- Tech
This sun-powered system delivers energy as it pulls water from the air
The device not only produces electricity but also harvests water for drinking or crops. It could be especially useful in remote and dry parts of the world.
