Tech
- Psychology
Cool Jobs: Doing real science in virtual worlds
Virtual reality isn’t just for gamers. Scientists are using VR technology to tackle real-world problems.
- Life
Fleets of flying robots could pollinate crops
Tiny flying drones use patches of sticky hair to capture pollen. One day they might join bees in pollinating crops.
- Computing
Single atoms become teensy data storage devices
Most people consider a thumb drive to be an amazingly small device for storing data. But this new system uses a ten-thousandth the number of atoms of today’s data-storage devices.
- Physics
Auto-focus eyeglasses rely on liquid lenses
Engineers have designed what could be the last eyeglasses anyone would need. Right now, they’re bulky but smart. Liquid lenses are key to their adjustability — and those lenses focus automatically.
- Physics
Father and son harness magnetic fields for new type of 3-D printing
A dad and his son have developed a new 3-D printing method in their basement. It harnesses pulsed magnetic fields to build metal objects one tiny aluminum drop at a time.
- Animals
Cool Jobs: A world aglow
Three scientists probe how the natural world makes light, in hopes of using this information to design new and better products.
- Tech
Scientists turn toy into valuable tool for medical diagnosis
A human-powered ‘paperfuge,’ inspired by a toy, could serve as an easy, low-cost way to aid in medical diagnoses, even in regions of the world lacking access to electricity.
- Computing
Germs power new paper batteries
New paper-based batteries rely on bacteria to generate electricity. These ‘papertronic’ power systems may be a safer choice for remote sites or dangerous environments.
- Animals
Cool Jobs: Abuzz for bees
These scientists are keeping bees healthy, making medicines for people from honey and constructing bee-inspired robots.
- Computing
Wired and weird: Meet the cyborg plants
By mixing electronics with greenery, engineers have made plants that conduct electricity, detect bombs and send email.
- Genetics
How to view tiny parts of DNA? Make them ‘blink’
A new technique can image nanoscale structures in cells without hurting them. No dyes needed. All you have to do is stimulate them with the right color of light.
- Physics
How to chill an object by sending its heat into space
Researchers have designed a device that can cool an object by radiating its energy into outer space. Think of it as a solar panel in reverse.
