Brown recluse spider's exceptionally strong silk inspires new generation of tough materials
Researchers from Oxford and William & Mary began discovered the spiders use a unique ribbon geometry not found in any other arachnid.
Innovative medical implant uses a magnetic field to deliver drugs
The magnetic implant could help ease treatments for patients required to take many pills or undergo regular intravenous injections.
Bioengineers share their biobot blueprints with the world
Five years ago, they developed biobots that moved using a power supply of rat heart cells. Now, the team wants to help other bioengineers build biobots.
Robots and AI are coming for our jobs. Can augmentation save us from automation?
The Fourth Industrial Revolution will transform the job market, eliminating over five million jobs in the next five years. So what do we, as humans, do? Augment ourselves.
Watch live: Experts discuss why Asteroid Day could save us from catastrophy
Astronomers from around the world hold a press conference leading up to the first official U.N. Asteroid Day, to be held on June 30.
Powerhouse bacteria decontaminates wastewater and makes energy
Researchers have demonstrated that this unusual bacteria may some day offer a means to decontaminate wastewater.
Compact 3D-printed incubator helps plants get a strong start in life
LumiLamp is a 3D-printed, desk-sized incubator designed to grow seedlings indoors and year-round with minimal effort.
Researchers build the world's smallest hammer to smash brain cells
The world’s smallest hammer has been created to study the physical, chemical, and biological effects to brain cells when we hit our head.
Open wide! Researchers develop medical sensors powered by stomach acid
Engineers from MIT and Brigham and Women’s Hospital have harnessed the power of stomach acid to keep small ingestible sensors running.
Buildings that breathe: Italian architect’s ‘Vertical Forest’ to sprout in China
Some 600 tall trees, 500 smaller trees, and 2,500 plants and shrubs will sprout from concrete balconies of the vertical forests.
Satellites tremble as Japan's 'space junk' collection mission ends in failure
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's experimental "space junk" cleanup mission ended in failure Monday morning.
Robotic skin: Researchers created a material twice as sensitive as human skin
Researchers have now designed a material that exceeds the sensitivity of human skin and may be used as an artificial skin for robots.
Pimp my computer desk: Ikea will “open source” a new line of customizable furniture
Ikea has detailed its line of “open platform” furniture meant to encourage tinkerers to modify DIY products into new and interesting designs.
Pushing the body’s boundaries: BodyHacking Conference 2017 kicks off
Bodyhackers from around the world gathered in Austin, Texas to attend the second annual Bodyhacking Conference, where artists, academics, grinders, and tinkerers will discuss the methods, ethics, and legality involved in the movement.
Tough as scales: Researchers create protective material inspired by fish skin
In a bid to build flexible and protective gear, researchers turned to nature for inspiration and frequented a fish market for subjects.
Swarm of grapefruit-sized robots helps scientists unlock secrets of the sea
In a recent paper, scientists describe a study with a swarm of robots, which ride currents and monitor the environment in 3D. Data collected by the swarm has offered insight into plankton, the oceans most abundant life form.
Conquering the clutter: Data Civilizer can sift through heaps of information
Data Civilizer helps minimize the grunt work involved in aggregating and organizing big data so scientists can get right to the analysis.
Biologists just created the world’s first stable semi-synthetic organism
Created by a team of bioengineers, the semisynthetic organism has DNA made up of four natural bases and two manmade bases.
Slacker hacker: Programmer uses AI to disguise his screen when his boss nears
A procrastinating programmer created a deep learning face-recognition program that can hide your screen when your boss walks by.
Pests begone! BioClay offers a safe and sustainable alternative to pesticides
A research team at the University of Queensland in Australia is developing BioClay, an environmentally sustainable alternative to pesticides.
A crew of six enter a geodesic dome to find out what it's like to live on Mars
An international crew of six enter a geodesic dome atop Hawaii’s Mauna Loa to begin an eight-month experiment on isolation and confinement.
Save your skin from sun damage by snapping a photo in invisible ultraviolet
New Kickstarter campaign SmartUV hopes to promote skin health by letting people see themselves in UV, which is invisible to the naked eye.
Here comes the Sun: ESA releases montage showing the Sun every day in 2016
The European Space Agency's montage shows the Sun as seen by the agency’s PROBA2 satellite throughout 2016.