Robots get micro-tentacles to handle delicate objects
Using a transparent elastomer, Iowa State University scientists have created tiny tentacles that robots can wrap around delicate objects to…
New photosynthesis-mimicking technology could enable round-the-clock solar power without batteries
Developed by chemists at UCLA, a new photosynthesis-like technology is capable of storing solar energy for up to several weeks…
Latest images of Ceres show detail of bright spot
New images of the dwarf planet Ceres, taken from 2,700 miles above by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft, show the surface of…
Water droplet computer can algorithmically manipulate physical matter
Researchers at Stanford have built a synchronous computer that operates using the unique physics of moving water droplets. The droplet…
Missing link found between brain and immune system
In a discovery that overturns decades of textbook teaching, researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have determined…
Researchers find link between cannabis use and fewer parasites
The more that hunter-gatherers in the Congo smoke cannabis, the less they are infected by parasitic intestinal worms, according to…
New paper shows how spacetime is built from quantum entanglement
A new paper to be published in Physical Review Letters has made a significant step toward unifying general relativity and…
Blind human echolocators can recognize the shape, size, and material properties of objects, according to new study
New Canadian research into human echolocation suggests that as well as being able to locate objects, some blind people can…
Sudden increase in ice loss in Antarctica
An international group of scientists has observed a sudden increase in ice loss on the Southern Antarctic Peninsula, what was…
Video game link to Alzheimer’s?
Video gamers spend a collective three billion hours per week in front of their screens. And while the average young…
Vaping flavorings found to alter lung function at cellular level
Certain flavorings used in electronic cigarette liquids may alter important cellular functions in lung tissue, according to new research presented…
Lab study suggests mad cow disease can be transmitted by plants
A study appearing in the latest issue of Cell Reports suggests that grass plants can bind, uptake, and transport infectious…
Memristor artificial synapse circuit demonstrated
In what its UC Santa Barbara developers say is a significant step toward brain-like computing; a memristor-based circuit of about…
Passive smoking and litter could explain high levels of nicotine found in spices, herbal teas, and medicinal plants
Despite the fact that nicotine insecticides were banned in 2009, European researchers say that high concentrations of nicotine are still…
Stars can create DNA precursors, suggests new experiment
Scientists at Berkeley Lab and the University of Hawaii have shown how DNA’s molecular precursors – carbon ring structures with…
Premature birth alters key brain connections
New research from King’s College London sheds light on why premature birth is linked to a greater risk of neurodevelopmental…
Centimeter-accurate GPS system could radically transform mobile devices
Centimeter-accurate positioning systems are already used in surveying and mapping, but the antennas these systems employ are too large and…
Mars astronauts will suffer significant brain damage
Scientists at the University of California, Irvine have been investigating what might happen to an astronaut’s brain during the long…
Link between serotonin and depression is a myth, argues leading psychiatrist
The belief that depression is due to low levels of serotonin in the brain – and that effective pharmaceutical treatments…
High-pitched sounds found to cause seizures in cats
Veterinary specialists in the UK have authored an intriguing paper regarding certain types of feline seizures, which appear to occur…
Major advance in artificial photosynthesis uses sunshine to create fossil fuel analogs
A major breakthrough in artificial photosynthesis has been achieved with the development of a system that can capture carbon dioxide…
Prototype video camera requires no power
Columbia University researchers led by Shree K. Nayar have developed the first video camera to be fully self-powered – its…
Search of 100,000 galaxies for advanced civilizations yields no obvious candidates
Using data from NASA’s WISE orbiting observatory, a team of scientists say they have found no evidence of the mid-infrared…
Mars may have liquid water
We’ve known for a long time that there is water in the form of ice on Mars. But now, new…
Primordial DNA could have appeared spontaneously, suggests new study
The self-organization properties of DNA-like molecular fragments four billion years ago may have guided their own growth into repeating chemical…
Scientists create artificial link between unrelated memories
Working with mice, researchers at the University of Toyama were able to generate artificial links between unrelated pieces of information…
Spring-assisted exoskeleton beats evolution
It’s taken millions of years for evolution to perfect how we walk, but research published in the journal Nature shows…
Chinese tree planting reverses global forest loss
Although massive vegetation loss is still occurring in Asia and South America, an analysis of 20 years of satellite data…
Surprisingly, higher education doesn’t seem to improve levels of happiness
In an intriguing new study, University of Warwick researchers say that while low educational attainment is associated with mental illness,…