Engineering Design
- Physics
Boom! Sounding out the enemy
Armistice Day marked the end of the Great War. But what arguably won the war was acoustics — the science of sound. It allowed Allied troops to home in on and rout the enemy.
- Chemistry
Some air pollutants seep through skin
The skin is the body’s largest organ. And it can let in as much or more of certain air pollutants than enter through the lungs, a new study finds.
- Physics
Einstein taught us: It’s all ‘relative’
One hundred years ago, a German physicist shared some math he had been working on. In short order, his theory of relativity would revise forever how people viewed the universe.
- Microbes
Slime cities
Biofilms are like tiny cities of bacteria — some harmless, others destructive. Scientists are learning how to keep these microscopic metropolises under control.
- Brain
Males and females respond to head hits differently
Men and women are playing sports equally — and getting concussions in comparable numbers. But how their brains respond may differ greatly.
- Health & Medicine
These bubbles treat wounds
New research shows bubble-powered drugs can travel upstream, against the flow of blood, to seal wounds shut.
- Psychology
Friends’ good moods can be contagious
Good mental health spreads through teen social networks, but depression doesn’t, a new study finds.
- Tech
How to print shape shifters
3-D printing was only the beginning. Scientists are pursuing 4-D printing, creating objects that can move and interact with their surroundings.
- Health & Medicine
Cool Jobs: Finding foods for the future
What's for dinner... tomorrow? Scientists are developing new foods to meet the demands of the growing population in a changing world.
- Environment
Insecticide can change a spider’s personality
A chemical meant to kill moths affects the behavior of some spiders. It alters the spiders’ ability to capture prey — including those moths.
- Science & Society
Retractions: Righting the wrongs of science
Retractions let scientific journals remove bogus studies from the record. It's part of a self-correction process that helps move science forward.
- Health & Medicine
Chikungunya wings its way north — on mosquitoes
A mosquito-borne virus once found only in the tropics has adapted to survive in mosquitoes in cooler places, such as Europe and North America.
