Engineering Design
- Climate
Chemists make device to destroy planet-warming methane pollution
It can slash diffuse sources of this extremely potent greenhouse gas, such as from livestock barns and other sites.
- Tech
Synthetic biology aims to tackle disease and give cells superpowers
DNA machines and protein-mimicking nanotech could replace broken machinery in cells or even lead to made-from-scratch synthetic life.
- Physics
Before the ancient Egyptians, nature may have carved sphinxes
Steady ‘winds’ can carve clay blobs into lion-shaped landforms called yardangs, a new study suggests. One such yardang may have inspired the Great Sphinx of Giza.
- Tech
Balsa wood transistors could usher in ‘greener’ electronics
Researchers in Sweden coaxed wood to conduct electricity, then used it to make a climate-friendlier building block of electronics.
- Physics
Experiment: Where does a bouncing basketball’s energy go?
Let’s explore whether energy loss to heat could explain why a basketball doesn’t bounce back to its original height.
- Tech
Offshore wind farms could do far more than just make clean power
Offshore wind farms cost more than onshore ones. But their ability to make ‘green’ hydrogen and capture carbon dioxide could help this wind power pay off.
- Tech
Let’s learn about flying drones for science
Airborne robots help researchers keep tabs on wildlife, agriculture and more.
- Physics
Scientists Say: Muon
Tracking muons raining down on Earth can reveal new details of pyramids, volcanoes and thunderstorms.
- Environment
New ultrathin materials can pull climate-warming CO2 from the air
To slow global warming, we’ll need help from CO2-trapping materials. Enter MXenes. They’re strong and reactive — and they love to eat up CO2.
- Ecosystems
Restoring giant underwater forests, one blade at a time
Giant kelp are at risk due to climate change and human activities. In New Zealand, a community effort is rebuilding these underwater algal forests.
- Physics
Heat makes water evaporate. Now it appears light can, too
In the lab, shining light on water made it evaporate faster. This never-before-seen effect, if real, might be happening naturally all around us.
- Physics
A new tool shows tiny changes in the ’24-hour’ length of a day
An underground instrument known as ‘G’ uses laser beams to measure Earth’s rotation — a gauge of day length — with extreme precision.
