Physics
- Planets
Preserving remnants of human culture on the moon
Artifacts left behind by lunar landings have value to research and human history. Scientists now want to preserve those cast-offs while also learning from them.
- Tech
This robot catches jellyfish with a gentle ‘hug’
A soft robotic hand gently catches jellyfish by trapping the creatures within its silicone fingers.
- Health & Medicine
Ultrasound might become a new way to manage diabetes
Ultrasound turns on production of the hormone insulin in mice. Someday, it might help maintain healthy blood-sugar levels in people who were recently diagnosed with diabetes.
- Health & Medicine
Explainer: What is ultrasound?
These sound waves, which fall above the range of human hearing, are important in medicine, medical imaging and more.
- Materials Science
Scientists Say: Crystal
The atoms or molecules in crystals take on a particular, repeatable pattern.
- Space
Could humans build a tall tower or giant rope to space?
The movie Ad Astra shows a space antenna, a spindly structure reaching up into the stars. We look at what it would take to build something that big.
- Animals
High-speed camera reveals the secrets of a legless larva’s leap
Research reveals how a blob of an insect can leap more efficiently than it crawls. Its body acts like a spring.
- Chemistry
Chemists have created a ring-shaped form of carbon
A ring-shaped carbon molecule takes its place among buckyballs, carbon nanotubes and other odd forms of the element.
- Materials Science
High-tech crops may survive harsh conditions, even space
Scientists have developed a non-invasive method for integrating metal-organic frameworks into plant tissue. This lays the foundation for resilient crops that can weather harsh conditions.
- Physics
This idea would turn the Earth into a giant space telescope
One astronomer has a bold solution to getting around the high cost of building big telescopes.
- Earth
Americans consume some 70,000 microplastic particles a year
The average American consumes more than 70,000 microplastic particles a year. Scientists hope this estimate will spur others to look at health risks.
- Physics
Sound ways — literally — to move and filter things
New technologies use sound waves to move and levitate objects. It’s not magic — it’s acoustophoresis.
