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.
- Chemistry
Father-son bond inspires sweets that model the shapes of molecules
These bite-sized gummy candies could spark interest in the world of chemistry, especially among students who can’t see.
- Tech
Sleep-friendlier lighting is on the way
Chemists have created a new glowing material for LEDs. It should lessen how much near-bedtime lighting impairs your ability to nod off.
- Tech
Mantis shrimp inspires somersaults of new soft robot
Its rolling acrobatics allow this robot to move especially swiftly — much as a fictional new Disney character can.
- Materials Science
‘Smart’ pasta morphs into fun shapes as it cooks
The trick to this shape-shifting are grooves cut into the raw pasta. Those grooves affect how the noodles swell as they cook.
- Agriculture
New technologies might help keep drought-prone farms green
After learning how much damage drought can do to crops, two teens designed ways to detect a thirsty plant and make sure it gets enough water.
- Computing
Will this smartphone app become your exercise coach?
When one teen couldn’t go to the gym, she invented an app to bring her gymnastics coach to her home. She succeeded and won a major award for it.
- Tech
New robots can clean virus-laden surfaces so people won’t have to
Smart and nimble cleaning robots will soon help disinfect spaces. They twist and bend to hit hard-to-reach spaces with UV light or cleansing sprays.
- Materials Science
New device gets power from 5G signals grabbed from the air
A new way to harvest electricity relies on a tiny array of antennas and a lens. Together, they collect and focus 5G signals coming from any direction.
- Materials Science
Copper ‘foam’ could be used as filters for COVID-19 masks
The lightweight new material could serve as a washable and recyclable, eco-friendly alternative for many current mask filters.
- Physics
Light levitation might help explore Earth’s ‘ignorosphere’
A toy called a light mill inspired researchers to invent a new way to fly. They’re using light to levitate small nanotube-coated discs.
- Materials Science
Bandages made from crab shells speed healing
The chitin in seafood wastes, insect “bones” and fungi is a chemist’s dream. Used in a new medical dressing, it beats regular gauze for wound healing.
- Health & Medicine
Could a toothpaste help treat peanut allergy?
By rolling an immune therapy into a toothbrushing routine, one company hopes to show its product can build and maintain tolerance to peanut allergens.
