MS-ETS1-1
Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.
- Tech
Magnetic fields melt and re-form new shape-shifting devices
Miniature machines made of gallium and magnetic particles can switch from solid to liquid and back.
- Climate
Here’s how to increase clean energy without harming wildlife
Wind farms, solar panels and more take up land and may harm wildlife. Researchers are working to resolve this conflict.
- Tech
Think of this new tech as sunglasses for our windows
Keeping buildings cool can use a lot of energy. Thanks to quantum computing, engineers designed a coating to cut the warming light that enters windows.
- Tech
Can we build Baymax?
Baymax may be science fiction, but soft robotics is not. Experts break down Baymax’s parts and show what’s coming in the future.
- Computing
Sleep helps AI models learn new things without forgetting old ones
Breaks in training meant to mimic human sleep helped artificial intelligence learn multiple tasks.
- Tech
New robot can pick up a single drop of liquid
The new device, which looks like a pair of plastic pinchers, is the first to be able to pick up individual droplets of liquid.
- Environment
For a better brick, just add poop
Sewage sludge. Cow dung. They’re not just waste — scientists are finding uses for processed poop in construction materials.
- Environment
Bacterial ‘living wires’ could help protect the seas and climate
Long, thin bacteria that conduct electricity may be able to help clean up oil spills and reduce emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.
- Chemistry
Explainer: What is a hydrogel?
These unusual materials have a host of unusual properties. You can even make a starch-infused version in your kitchen.
- Tech
A shape-shifting robotic tooth-cleaner might one day brush for you
A swarm of billions of magnetic, bacteria-killing nanoparticles can be shaped into bristles to fit any surface, including between teeth.
- Materials Science
These fabrics change color as they stretch
Stretchy, color-shifting cloth may lead to new art, fashions and sensors. A century-old Nobel-prize-winning invention served as its inspiration.
- Animals
Sea creatures’ fishy scent protects them from deep-sea high pressures
TMAO’s water-wrangling ability protects a critter’s critical proteins — including muscle — from crushing under deep ocean pressures.
