Archive for the ‘Technology’ Category

  • Running short of copper, phosphorus, rare elements

    Without phosphorus fertilizer, millions would starve. A shortage of copper — and electricity — could short-circuit our economy. Without many obscure elements, we would not have LCDs and cell phones. Should we act to prevent future shortages?


    Thursday, September 11th, 2008
  • Electric eye learns from animal eye!

    Lenses cannot project a perfect image on the flat back of a camera, so images are distorted at the edges. A revolutionary camera solves this problem by curving the light detector.


    Thursday, August 7th, 2008
  • Laser: The invention that just won’t quit!

    Lasers read and write CDs and DVDs, form the heart of fiber-optics, and are being used in climate prediction, chemical identification, high-tech manufacturing, even the battle against influenza.


    Thursday, July 17th, 2008
  • Gulf of Mexico: Dealing with the Dead Zone

    When too much fertilizer reaches the Gulf of Mexico through the Mississippi River, a vast area gets robbed of oxygen. What can be done to reduce the dead zone that appears each summer?


    Thursday, July 3rd, 2008
  • Dig the latest top tech tricks

    What you can’t see can still interest you. Archeologists use radar, magnetic, electrical gizmos to see through the ground, find places to dig.


    Thursday, June 5th, 2008
  • Overcoming paralysis
    Overcoming paralysis

    Brain electrodes allow monkeys to move robot arm and feed themselves. Experiment proves it’s possible to bypass spinal cord to create simple motion.


    Thursday, May 29th, 2008
  • Earthquake safety: It begins at home
    Earthquake safety: It begins at home

    Construction matters. Hundreds of millions live and work in houses and schools that will collapse in the next earthquake. Chile and California prove that smart engineering saves lives.


    Thursday, May 22nd, 2008
  • Mechanical mouth makes debut

    To measure the molecules that give food taste, you need a standardized eating machine. One has finally arrived, courtesy of food technologists in France (of all places!). Meet the mechanical masticator!


    Thursday, May 15th, 2008
  • Hungry? History has lessons for improving farm productivity.

    After World War II, the “green revolution” sparked an explosion in farm output in developing countries. With soaring food prices and spreading food riots, what can we learn from the green revolution?


    Thursday, April 24th, 2008
  • Big ideas from the smallest world

    New snowflake generator reveals nature’s design principles; anti-reflective coating is nearly perfect, and so is mother-of-pearl inside an abalone. Dive into the nitty gritty of the itty bitty!


    Thursday, January 31st, 2008


Cool Science Images

Image courtesy of Pete Mouginis-Mark, Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawaii at Manoa

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