Engineering Design

Health & Medicine

Deadly heat: Expected by century’s end, it’s here already

Instances of hot and humid conditions that threaten human lives are on the rise.

Materials Science

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.

Materials Science

Astronauts may be able to make cement with their own pee

Lunar dust and a compound found in urine might one day be used to build future dwellings on the moon, a new study finds.

Health & Medicine

Waiting for a ‘smart’ toilet? It’s nearly here

With every bathroom visit, we flush away important health data. Scientists hope to change that with 'smart toilets' that analyze your body’s output.

Health & Medicine

Coronavirus lockdowns may have avoided 531 million infections

Studies find big benefits from global coronavirus lockdowns. More than a half a billion of the potentially deadly infections appear to have been avoided.

Animals

This tube worm’s glowing slime may help sustain its own shine

Snot oozed by a marine tube worm can glow for up to 3 full days. The secret of how this works might lead to long-lasting lights that glow on and on.

Science & Society

A first: Commercial rocket takes humans into space

Two NASA astronauts aboard the privately built Crew Dragon capsule are the first to be sent into orbit from U.S. soil since 2011.

Life

Planets with hydrogen skies could harbor life

Microbes can live in a hydrogen atmosphere. This points to new space worlds that host alien life.

Earth

Fossil fuels appear to release far more methane than we thought

Ice cores reveal less methane than expected. This suggests today’s fossil fuel industry is responsible for nearly all of the methane emissions from natural sources today.

Environment

CO₂ emissions have nosedived as COVID-19 keeps people home

The COVID-19 pandemic restricted travel that can pollute the air. By April, travel-related daily emissions of greenhouse gases was back to 2006 levels.

Chemistry

Ancient recipes helped scientists resurrect a long-lost blue hue

Led by medieval texts, scientists hunted down a plant and used its fruit to make a blue watercolor with mysterious origins.

Health & Medicine

Sweat tech alerts athletes when to rehydrate — and with what

Technology shows how the body responds to moderate and vigorous exercise. That helps athletes stay healthy — and helps scientists understand why.