Engineering Design
- Health & Medicine
Five questions about COVID-19 vaccine trials in teens, answered
Scientists are now testing COVID-19 vaccines in teens. Why do teens need a separate trial? And what would happen? We’ve got answers.
- Physics
Physicists have clocked the shortest time span ever
The experiment revealed how long it takes light to cross a hydrogen molecule: just a couple hundred zeptoseconds.
- Environment
Unmasking the pandemic’s pollution problem
Discarding all the materials people use to protect themselves from COVID-19 has created a growing environmental problem.
- Physics
What did you say? Fabric masks can really muffle voices
Some types of face masks muffle speech more than others — something that teachers should take into account.
- Agriculture
Dew collector brings water to thirsty plants
This invention grabs water from the air at night. All it needs is the sun’s warmth the next day to release that moisture to growing plants.
- Health & Medicine
What kids need to know about getting a COVID-19 shot
COVID-19 vaccines are already being administered to some adults. Here’s what that means for kids and teens.
- 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.
- Environment
Analyze this: Microplastics are showing up in Mount Everest’s snow
Microplastics have made their way to the snow on Earth’s tallest peak. Most of the plastic likely comes from climbers’ equipment and clothes.
- Brain
A taste map in the brain is a scattering of tiny flavor islands
Some senses are highly organized in the brain. Taste is not. And that points to just how important it is.
- Health & Medicine
Early details emerge about the new U.K. coronavirus variant
The variant may spread more easily from person to person. That could make continuing to wear masks all the more important, experts say.
- Chemistry
A soil-based ‘concrete’ could make buildings green, even on Mars
A new soil-based material offers an alternative to concrete for 3-D printing environmentally friendly buildings.
- Tech
Flexible devices may help clothes solar power your screens
A fluorescent polymer duo boosts the efficiency of solar cells. One day this material may coat your jacket, hat or backpack to provide power on the go.
