Tech
- Tech
This battery stretches without losing oomph
Engineers have made a durable lithium-ion battery that can stretch to 150 percent of its original length. One day it could power wearable electronics.
- Tech
To really learn, fail — then fail again!
Hands-on learning through trial and error is becoming more popular in schools. The good news: Mistakes can be very helpful.
- Computing
Computing: Swapping a glove for the keyboard
Sensor-studded gloves, designed by a Texas teen, might someday serve as a virtual keyboard or musical instrument — or even help interpret sign language.
- Tech
This door handle kills germs
A high-tech door handle may cut down on disease transmission, say its teen developers. The system is powered by simply opening and closing the door.
- Space
Collecting trash in space
Space junk threatens satellites that cost millions of dollars. But one teen has come up with an idea to collect and dispose of that orbiting trash.
- Materials Science
Keeping roofs cooler to cut energy costs
Cool it! A cheap paint-on coating for roofing shingles could help reduce a home’s heating bills and might even trim urban ozone levels, a teen shows.
- Tech
Teens want to make windshield wipers obsolete
Windshield wipers often can’t keep up with the rain. High-intensity air sprays might one day take their place, according to research by two teens.
- Health & Medicine
Teens win big for pollution control and HIV detection
Ah-choo! The 2015 Intel ISEF competition’s top winner designed a way to curb germs on planes. Two other big winners invented ways to detect HIV early and to corral oil spills at sea.
- Tech
Stepping out with a smarter cane
Many older people trip and fall on uneven ground. A Colorado teen has designed a ‘smart’ cane to help seniors avoid dangerous obstacles.
- Tech
Making cents of sounds
Some people give up when a vending machine rejects their money. But one student decided to turn his frustration into inspiration. Through research, he showed how to identify coins by the sounds they make.
- Health & Medicine
Bones: Custom cushioning helps heal a bad break
If the stiff casts encasing broken limbs included an inflatable air bladder instead of a soft lining, costly and painful complications experienced by some patients during healing might be avoided, two teens reported at the 2015 Intel ISEF competition.
- Brain
Hands-free but still distracted
When people aren’t distracted, they can see a traffic light change very quickly. But a teen scientist now shows that texting — even with a hands-free device — gets dangerously slow.
