A new conjugated polymer provides opportunity to improve insulating materials around high-voltage cables for more efficient power transmission.
A robot that smiles back
Researchers teach robots to make appropriate reactive human facial expressions, an ability that could build trust between humans and their robotic co-workers and care-givers.
Researchers in Sweden develop light emitters for quantum circuits
Photonics offer a natural link between communication and computation, providing a potential bridge to build a quantum internet.
“Evolvable” synaptic transistors push the edge of neuromorphic computing
Researchers demonstrate the controlled growth of artificial synapses, paving the way for computers that can grow, evolve, and adapt like the human brain.
Tourism and climate change threaten Lake Baikal, a unique global treasure
Mass tourism has grown exponentially across the last decade, bringing nearly 2 million tourists to Baikal’s sparsely populated shores.
Earth Day 2021: How technology is helping to fight the climate crisis
Seven emerging technologies that could help to mitigate the most devastating effects of climate change.
Bottlebrush polymers create a rainbow of structural colors
Researchers create a new and elegant way of producing nanostructured microparticles, yielding a vibrant palette of colors from a single polymer brush.
Scientists develop eco-friendly pollen sponge to tackle water contaminants
This pollen sponge can absorb oil contaminants, such as gasoline and motor oil, at a rate comparable to commercial oil absorbents
Solar-powered robot lifts 25x its own weight
A liquid-based, solar-powered soft robot has this writer dreaming of its potential applications in space explorations and beyond.
Protein synthesis: An adaptive “hive mind” of cellular proportions
New evidence suggests a hidden “intelligence” of a life-sustaining pathway.