Engineering Design

  1. Chemistry

    How to spin synthetic spider silk

    A new method for spinning artificial spider silk combines parts of proteins from two species and mimics what happens in a spider’s silk-forming gland.

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  2. Computing

    The Internet of Things wants to link all facets of our world

    The Internet of Things means everyday objects are becoming computers. Can people harness this technology to make the world better?

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  3. Computing

    How to build computer chips only 3 atoms thick

    Scientists have engineered an ultrathin material only three atoms thick. The material could be used to make extremely slender computer chips.

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  4. Computing

    LEDs offer new way to kill germs in water

    Growing ultraviolet-light-emitting diodes on thin, flexible sheets of metal holds promise for water disinfection and other applications.

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  5. Health & Medicine

    Snot Science: A snotty setup

    We’ve got a video with a snotty experiment. Now we describe how you can do the same test yourself. Try it!

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  6. Health & Medicine

    Snot Science: Results are nothing to sneeze at

    We tested a lot of snot, but now we need to figure out what our data mean. Here’s how to group and analyze our data.

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  7. Health & Medicine

    Snot Science: Taking mucus to the next level

    There’s more to science than just squirting snot. It’s time to place data in context and figure out how to take my boogers to the next level.

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  8. Agriculture

    World’s tallest corn towers nearly 14 meters

    Short nights and a genetic tweak helped novel corn reach record heights.

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  9. Space

    Movie, book illuminate Hidden Figures from the space race

    A new movie and book showcase the hidden heroes of the space race — the mathematicians who crunched the numbers.

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  10. Tech

    Speedy, springy robot ‘Salto’ catches some serious air

    A lightweight robot nicknamed “Salto” can bound from floor to wall and back. Such fast and agile bots may someday aid in search-and-rescue operations.

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  11. Computing

    Computer hackers take to the cloud

    People use cloud computing for storing files online. A new study shows the dark side of the cloud: These services can harbor malware.

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  12. Computing

    Wind power gets downsized — but in a good way

    Two young scientists have developed ways to tap into wind power on a small scale.

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