MS-ETS1-4
Develop a model to generate data for iterative testing and modification of a proposed object, tool, or process such that an optimal design can be achieved.
- 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.
- Tech
Will the internet soon reach the one-third of people without it?
Access to the internet is a human right, yet much of the world can’t get online. New tech has to be affordable and usable to end this digital divide.
- 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.
- 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.
- Tech
Can computers think? Why this is proving so hard to answer
In 1950, Alan Turing proposed a test to tell a human from a computer. Today, that Turing test may tell us more about ourselves than about machines.
- Health & Medicine
Examining Neandertal and Denisovan DNA wins a 2022 Nobel Prize
Svante Pääbo figured out how to examine the genetic material from these hominid ‘cousins’ of modern humans.
- Fossils
Bizarre ancient critter has spines but no anus
The spiny discovery moves this minion lookalike off a distant limb on the human family tree.
- Animals
Analyze This: Bulky plesiosaurs may not have been bad swimmers after all
Long-necked plesiosaurs were thought to be slow swimmers. But new research suggests the animals’ large size helped them overcome water resistance.
- Tech
New stick-on ‘sonar’ device lets you watch your own heart beat
This wearable patch might one day make personalized medicine affordable almost anywhere in the world.
- Tech
You might someday ‘wallpaper’ your bedroom with this loudspeaker
This thin, flexible and lightweight loudspeaker could reduce noise in loud spaces. It also might enable listeners to experience sound in new ways.
- Chemistry
Simple process destroys toxic and widespread ‘forever’ pollutants
Ultraviolet light, sulfite and iodide break down these PFAS molecules faster and more thoroughly than other methods.
- Tech
Virtual critters evolve bodies that help them learn
A combination of evolution and learning may lead to more intelligent and agile robots.
