Tech
- Computing
Teen’s new app guards against the rise of villainous AI bots
Sometimes good chatbots and AI agents go rogue. A Regeneron ISEF finalist’s new app helps guard against bots developing dangerous personalities.
- Artificial Intelligence
AI may be giving teens bad diet advice
The meal plans that AI made for fictional teens cut an entire meal’s worth of calories per day.
- Plants
Perfect pitch? Scientists lay new grounds for World Cup ‘26
High-tech turfgrass carpets will be unrolled in 16 stadiums across North America — including five that must survive despite getting no natural sunlight.
- Tech
Would lip-synching make androids seem less creepy?
Robots that seem almost — but not quite — human can strike us as eerie. Improved lip motions might help overcome this “Uncanny Valley” effect.
- Chemistry
New polish could turn long nails into touchscreen styluses
It registers nails' touch by disrupting the touchscreen’s electric field. But this high-tech varnish isn’t ready to hit store shelves yet.
- Computing
Scientists Say: Boolean
Computers handle complex problems through a series of very simple answers, such yes or no, on or off — and most often, one or zero.
- Artificial Intelligence
Don’t trust AI for help with citations, science-fair judges warn
Fake, AI-generated citations have begun disqualifying major science-fair projects. Such ‘ghost’ references even haunt research journals.
- Health & Medicine
Scientists get smart about farts with new underwear sensor
It snaps into regular undies to measure releases of hydrogen gas. Rates vary widely, but 32 farts a day seems about average, early data suggest.
- Artificial Intelligence
A new shield could guard AI agents against cyberattacks
A teen’s software could help guard AI that handles sensitive data against sneaky “prompt injection attacks.”
- Artificial Intelligence
Sneaky: AI auto-complete may be shaping our views
People are increasingly using AI auto-complete features when writing. Those tools may change how we think — even without our knowing.
- Environment
Teen engineer finds eco-friendly way to fight harmful algal blooms
The Netflix series Outer Banks inspired this teen engineer to help clean up algal blooms in a local waterway.
- Tech
Backyard leafhoppers inspire next-generation cloaking tech
Engineers are borrowing this insect’s trick, an "invisibility cloak" of anti-reflective spheres. It could lead to new clean energy tech or military gear.
