A new underwater robot designed to chase marine organisms and record their life stories combines the best attributes of long-distance gliders and short-trip propeller vehicles. Its creator says its range and science capabilities could completely
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Intelligent advanced aircraft is one thing, but if the Air Force wants to be in prime warfighting condition, its pilots had better come with advanced weaponry, too. That's why the
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What do this week's election results mean for the future of science?
With a shifting balance of power in Washington, some changes may be in store for science. Though the dust has barely settled, some political analysts are already predicting Republican-led global
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A blind Finnish man implanted with a special chip in his retina was able to see letters, a clock face and even different shades of gray, according to a new study. The device could represent a new
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Today marks the 10th anniversary of human habitation at the International Space Station, meaning that as of this week, humans have been living in space for more than two decades. That's a pretty impressive statement when you think about it.
The ISS has been continuously
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Bat Con 2010 could have been a decidedly depressing science meeting, with days full of papers discussing bat deaths from white-nose syndrome, wind
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Electronic devices could get much more sophisticated with new diode technology that allows electrons to move around more quickly. Two groups of researchers are reporting advances in diode performance through new manufacturing processes - one uses a
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Batdrones, swarming UAVs, and better radar are in our future
Bat Con 2010 could have been a decidedly depressing science meeting, with days full of papers discussing bat deaths from white-nose
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Next year is the "Year of the Bat"
This is probably the only weekend of the year when people think about bats. Their mysterious, dark nature makes them essential Halloween decorations, and this perennial association with creepiness ensures most people think of them as
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At the North American bat convention, biologists seek ways to reduce bat deaths at wind farms
DENVER - Bad news for bats: Mother Nature is not the only thing wiping them out. Anthropogenic climate change and renewable energy technology are also wreaking havoc on bat
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Taking cues from slime molds, ants, and living biological cells, a team of University of Pittsburgh researchers has designed a system of artificial cells that can communicate with one another and cooperate to carry out tasks. The computer models they've devised could
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With shuttle launch postponed, our hearts go out to a passenger
NASA has just announced it will postpone the 39th and final launch of space shuttle Discovery until November 30 at the earliest, after a hydrogen gas leak stalled this afternoon's scheduled liftoff.
Meanwhile,
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Talk about cloud computing. Google wants to install "InterPlanetary internet protocols" (IP IP?) on spacecraft, using them as an interwoven network of new space-based communication nodes.
That's according Google's Chief Internet Evangelist, Vint Cerf, in an interview
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Cab drivers know their cities intimately, using shortcuts and side streets to bypass traffic jams and (hopefully) get you to your destination more quickly. Now Microsoft is hoping to tap into this talent and design
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The car rounds out the company's electrification plan
Ford has been talking for months about its plan to bring five electrified vehicles to market by 2013. The last remaining mystery about that lineup -- a plug-in hybrid whose name, shape, or size were long unknown
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Last week's launch of NanoSail-D - NASA's solar sailing nanosatellite that was reportedly launched from the Fast, Affordable, Science and Technology Satellite
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A new underwater kite being developed in Sweden could be a low-cost, low-impact method for harnessing ocean energy. Swedish start-up Minesto has obtained US$2.5 million to start testing the kite in Northern Ireland next year.
The kite, called Deep Green, is able to capture tidal energy at
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Of all the aviation tech emerging from the Farnborough International Airshow, Airbus' futurist visions are among the coolest.
The aviation firm unveiled its
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The vast amount of information at our fingertips these days can be as distracting as it is useful. Tracking something like the movement of an index on the stock market by feverishly checking a ticker all day is often more than you want to deal with. So this cube lets you display data it receives
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An ultralight kit plane designed in the 1970s has become the first four-engined electric plane to take to the skies. Weighing in around 175 kilograms -- including the pilot -- the
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It?s amazing no one thought of it before: nuclear fusion from a levitating tire-sized magnet
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Looking for new energy solutions, scientists are increasingly embracing the idea of cold fusion, once considered a junk science along the lines of alchemy. "Cold fusion" describes the nuclear fusion of atoms at close to room temperatures, as opposed to the epic temperatures
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RNAi, also known as "gene silencing," is a cellular mechanism that blocks the production of proteins, and has tantalised doctors as a potential medicine for a number of years now. However, by placing payloads of RNA in a polymer nanobot, scientists have finally shown
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With Avatar, the highest-grossing movie of all time, and the World Cup, the most-watched TV broadcast, both in 3-D, it was only a matter of time until Nintendo, the most popular video game maker in the world, jumped on the three-dimensional bandwagon. And last
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One squat multitasking robot can build semiconductors for solar cells on six-inch-square plates of glass, plastic or flexible metals in just over half an hour. Six of these tireless mechanical workers, chugging away at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Colorado, will
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Stephen Conroy is the poster boy behind the push for a mandatory internet content filter in Australia. And while Google recently panned the effectiveness
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Northrop Grumman has released a new photo of their carrier-based attack drone, the X-47B. It's due to make its first flight later this year as part
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No-one loves that trash smell in the morning, and certainly not Beijing residents who have complained about a landfill at the city's edge. Chinese officials will respond to the Asuwei dump crisis by installing 100 deodorant guns that can literally cover up the problem temporarily with
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The future of community bike systems may not require much pedaling at all; Sanyo has just installed two "Solar Parking Lots" that serve as solar charging stations for 100 Eneloop electric hybrid
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It's the bane of Web designers everywhere, and it makes most modern Websites look broken and horrible. So why are 20% of web surfers still using it?
Today was supposed to be a great day for the Web. As of March 1, 2020, Google will no
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