Could solar flares be triggering birth defects?
It’s known that airplane crews at high altitude are exposed to potentially harmful levels of radiation from cosmic rays, but…
Bionic plants created with carbon nanotubes
Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) report boosting plants’ ability to capture light energy by 30 percent by…
Artificial leaf clears developmental barrier
Putting together the chemical reactions that make photosynthesis happen has proven harder than scientists initially thought, but in a new…
Sperm-like biological robot displays “remarkable” self-organization
Powered by cultured heart cells, tiny, self-organizing bio-hybrid machines that swim like sperm have been created by scientists at the…
Penguin propulsion could drive marine vessels
Scientists have created a highly efficient and extremely maneuverable propulsion system by mimicking the shoulder of an Emperor penguin. The…
Bacteria modified with squid protein could be a camouflage game-changer for military
In the latest issue of the journal Advanced Materials, the researchers report on the creation of a biomimetic infrared camouflage…
Novel geometry creates ultralight super-strong components from tiny interlocking 3-D printed parts
In what could herald an entirely new approach to manufacturing all manner of complex structures, MIT researchers have created tiny…
“Flowers” self-assemble from basic chemistry
By simply manipulating chemical gradients in a beaker of fluid, researchers at Harvard have found they can control the growth…
Successful transplant of bioengineered rat kidney
Bioengineered rat kidneys have successfully produced urine both in a laboratory apparatus and after being transplanted into living animals. The…
Fungi make modern violin sound like a Stradivarius
Researcher Francis W. M. R. Schwarze, from the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, has used fungi to…
Hamburger-shaped raindrops creating twin rainbows
Computer simulations have allowed scientists to identify the curiously named “burgeroid” raindrop as being responsible for a rare optical phenomenon…
Artificial jellyfish shows new route to synthetic organisms
Using only silicon and cultured rat heart muscle tissue, bioengineers from Caltech and Harvard University have created a jellyfish-like creature…
Heredity and evolution seen in synthetic DNA
DNA and RNA possess two features believed essential for life: they display heredity (pass on genetic information) and they can…
Insect cyborgs get onboard power source
Attaching tiny sensors, recording devices and control mechanisms to insects is now a more realistic prospect after the discovery that…
Proton-based transistor could control biological processes
Transistors that control electron flow are the foundation of electronic gadgets, but human bodies and all other living things send…
Mushy memory brings biocompatible electronics a step closer
A new generation of biocompatible electronic devices may be in the offing with the development of a memory device that…
Artificial neural network created from DNA
California Institute of Technology (Caltech) researchers have made an artificial neural network out of DNA, creating a circuit of interacting…