Engineering Design

  1. Tech

    Squirty gels bring food-like flavors to virtual reality

    A new device recreates complex flavors including lemonade, coffee and fish soup by delivering a mix of chemicals.

    By Simon Makin
  2. Animals

    Lab-grown mosquitoes could help protect Hawaii’s native birds

    To curb the spread of avian malaria, a teen researcher found a way to make those mosquitoes grow faster and stronger.

    By Maria Temming
  3. Brain

    Brain scans may offer clues to the mental health of trans youth

    A teen researcher identified a possible link between brain development and mental health in young trans people.

    By Maria Temming
  4. Environment

    New water treatment process removes pollutants most now don’t

    The two-step water treatment process could cut not only excreted drugs flowing into waterways but also some nutrients that feed harmful algal blooms.

    By Kathiann Kowalski
  5. Earth

    Can engineering save Antarctica’s most vulnerable glacier?

    Bold engineering projects might stabilize Thwaites Glacier and slow sea level rise. But no one knows if they will work — or have serious side effects.

    By Douglas Fox
  6. Tech

    Experiment: Make the fastest rubber band paddleboat

    With a rubber band and some cardboard, you can build your own paddleboat to speed across the surface of a pool.

    By Science Buddies
  7. Earth

    Analyze This: Smartphone data may help improve GPS

    Data from millions of phones helped fill in maps of the ionosphere, an atmospheric layer that can muddle radio signals key for navigation systems.

    By Carolyn Wilke
  8. Artificial Intelligence

    AI-designed proteins target toxins in deadly snake venom

    The current way to produce antivenoms is outdated. In lab tests, AI-designed proteins could save mice from a lethal dose of snake toxin.

    By Meghan Rosen
  9. Artificial Intelligence

    DeepSeek pioneers a new way for AI to ‘reason’

    Chatbots answer one question at a time. Reasoning agents work through a problem step by step. DeepSeek makes this new type of AI far less costly.

    By Kathryn Hulick
  10. Science & Society

    Does your natural history museum need a makeover?

    A lot of their old-fashioned dioramas — a type of exhibit — are biased, boring or even unscientific. Here’s what modern museums are doing to fix that.

    By Amber Dance
  11. Tech

    A robotic hand helps piano players’ fingers move faster

    Robotic devices like this might someday help musicians, gamers, athletes or even surgeons improve their dexterity.

    By Kathryn Hulick
  12. Genetics

    This young biologist looked for links between diet and dyslexia

    Thermo Fisher JIC finalist Giselle Drewett wanted to know how lifestyle might influence a gene related to dyslexia.

    By Maria Temming