Bizarre Things: Matter & Energy

August 20, 2016

Little Light Powered Soft Robotic Caterpillar

Down to the Wire: GM Bacteria Carry Electricity

See-Through Wood Windows Are Cooler Than Glass

Fifth Force of Nature? Clarifying Dark Matter

Latest Headlines

updated 11:41am EDT

Don't Scan So Close to Me: Sting's Musical Brain Scanned

Aug. 15, 2016 — What does the 1960s Beatles hit 'Girl' have in common with Astor Piazolla's evocative tango composition 'Libertango'? Probably not much, to the casual listener. But in the mind of one famously ... read more

Legions of Nanorobots Target Cancerous Tumors With Precision

Aug. 15, 2016 — Researchers have just achieved a spectacular breakthrough in cancer research. They have developed new nanorobotic agents capable of navigating through the bloodstream to ... read more

Gaming Using a Stretchy Touchpad

Aug. 11, 2016 — Researchers have developed a highly stretchable touchpad that can be used to write words and play ... read more

'Chemtrails' Not Real, Say Atmospheric Science Experts

Aug. 12, 2016 — Well-understood physical and chemical processes can easily explain the alleged evidence of a secret, large-scale atmospheric spraying program, commonly referred to as ... read more

Your Brain on Google Glass

Aug. 11, 2016 — A group of biomedical engineers use functional near-infrared spectroscopy to measure mental workload as subjects navigate a ... read more

Ultracold Atoms in a 'Rydberg-Dress'

Aug. 10, 2016 — Scientists have developed a novel technique to let atoms interact over ... read more

Paraplegics Regain Some Feeling, Movement After Using Brain-Machine Interfaces

Aug. 11, 2016 — Eight people who have spent years paralyzed from spinal cord injuries have regained partial sensation and muscle control in ... read more

Toward Clothes That Fix Their Own Rips

Aug. 10, 2016 — Ripped pants or a torn shirt usually means a trip to the tailor or a garbage can is in one's future. But scientists could be closing in on a new solution. They report a fabric coating made of squid ... read more

Watch a Tiny Space Rocket Work

Aug. 8, 2016 — Moving a nanosatellite around in space takes only a tiny amount of thrust. Engineers teamed up, put a nanoscale rocket under a microscope, and watched ... read more

DNA Dominoes on a Chip

Aug. 9, 2016 — Normally, individual molecules of genetic material repel each other. However, when space is limited DNA molecules must be packed together more tightly. This case arises in ... read more

Robot Beats Humans at Table Football

A Satellite That Shoots Light Could Make China Unhackable

The Heat In NYC Means Cockroaches Are Flying, So That's Horrifying

Toucan Receives New Beak Made by 3D Printer

Researchers Immobilize Underwater Bubbles

Aug. 9, 2016 — Controlling bubbles is a difficult process and one that many of us experienced in a simplistic form as young children wielding a bubble wand, trying to create bigger bubbles without popping them. A ... read more

Scientists Discover Light Could Exist in a Previously Unknown Form

Aug. 5, 2016 — New research suggests that it is possible to create a new form of light by binding light to a single electron, combining the properties of ... read more

Shape-Changing Metamaterial Developed Using Kirigami Technique

Aug. 5, 2016 — Engineers have developed a new shape-changing metamaterial using Kirigami, which is the ancient Japanese art of cutting and folding paper to obtain 3-D ... read more

Newly Discovered 'Blue Whirl' Fire Tornado Burns Cleaner for Reduced Emissions

Aug. 5, 2016 — Researchers say their discovery of a type of fire tornado they call a 'blue whirl' could lead to beneficial new approaches for reduced carbon emissions and improved oil spill ... read more

Dot-Drawing With Drones

Aug. 4, 2016 — You may have heard of plans to use drones for delivering packages, monitoring wildlife, or tracking storms. But painting murals? Researchers have enlisted tiny drones to create dot drawings -- an ... read more

Quick-Destructing Battery to Power 'Transient' Devices

Aug. 4, 2016 — Scientists have developed a working battery that self-destructs in water. It's part of a field of study called 'transient electronics.' The battery project presented many challenges, ... read more

Phase-Change Device Imitates the Functionality of Neurons

Aug. 4, 2016 — Scientists have created randomly spiking neurons using phase-change materials to store and process data. This demonstration marks a significant step forward in the development of energy-efficient, ... read more

Towards the T-1000: Liquid Metals Propel Future Electronics

Aug. 4, 2016 — How can we move beyond solid state electronics towards flexible soft circuit systems? New self-propelling liquid metals could be the answer. The advance opens the potential for creating makeshift and ... read more

Waste Not: Edible Wax Coating Slicks Liquids With Ease

Aug. 3, 2016 — Materials scientists have created a 'superhydrophobic' coating that easily slicks away viscous liquids like syrup, honey and ketchup. They detail the engineering feat in a new paper that ... read more

Recycling Carbon Dioxide

Aug. 3, 2016 — Turning carbon dioxide into stored energy sounds like science fiction: researchers have long tried to find simple ways to convert this greenhouse gas into fuels and other useful chemicals. Now, ... read more

Programmable Ions Set the Stage for General-Purpose Quantum Computers

Aug. 3, 2016 — Scientists have introduced the first fully programmable and reconfigurable quantum computer ... read more

Perpetual 'Ice Water': Stable Solid-Liquid State Revealed in Nanoparticles

Aug. 3, 2016 — Researchers have discovered that gallium nanoparticles can form a solid core surrounded by a liquid outer layer over a temperature span of 1000 degrees Fahrenheit. The discovery marks the first time ... read more

Chemists Create Vitamin-Driven Battery

Aug. 3, 2016 — A team chemists has created a battery that stores energy in a biologically derived unit, paving the way for cheaper consumer electronics that are easier on the environment.The battery is similar to ... read more

Computers Will Be Able to Assess Humans' State of Mind

Aug. 2, 2016 — Machines are taking over more and more tasks. Ideally, they should also be capable to support the human in case of poor performance. To intervene appropriately, the machine should understand what is ... read more

Bridging the Gap Between the Quantum and Classical Worlds

Aug. 2, 2016 — Strong coupling in specific light-matter interactions, previously believed to be a quantum phenomenon, is explained with classical models and ... read more

Ultrasonic Vibrations Cause Fingers to Bounce on Touchscreens, Reducing the Friction

Aug. 2, 2016 — Researchers discover that ultrasonic vibrations reduce friction on flat screens by causing the fingertip to bounce on pockets of trapped ... read more

People Not Technology Will Drive Success of Autonomous Vehicles

Aug. 2, 2016 — As the world moves closer to autonomous and self-driving vehicles, road safety experts are turning from technology to psychology to better understand the road to safer ... read more

Restoring Prairie and Fighting Wildfire With (Drone Launched) Fire(balls)

Aug. 1, 2016 — One ecologist wants to change the way we think about prescribed burns. The professor says he can harness extreme fire to restore grasslands on the Great Plains -- and he has created a small drone ... read more

First Wave-Propelled Robot Swims, Crawls and Climbs Using a Single, Small Motor

Aug. 1, 2016 — The first single actuator wave-like robot (SAW) has been developed. The 3D-printed robot can move forward or backward in a wave-like motion, moving much like a worm would in a perpendicular ... read more

Quick Meal? 3-D Printed Dinner

July 29, 2016 — A professor and his students have invented a 3D food printer that could revolutionize the way we think about food and prepare it -- it can fabricate edible items through computer-guided software and ... read more

Tuesday, August 9, 2016