Writing about science, technology, and society since 1998.
Jurassic Park’s amber-preserved dino DNA is now inspiring a way to store data
Sometimes science fiction does inspire science research. À la Jurassic Park’s entombed mosquito, scientists have developed a method to store DNA in an amberlike material and still extract it easily when required. This storage method is cheaper and faster than existing options, the researchers report in the June issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
Scientists are turning the process of protein folding into sound
Scientists have been studying how proteins fold for decades. This research got a boost in late 2020, when AlphaFold proved it could predict protein structures with great accuracy. But what exactly happens as proteins transition from unfolded to folded states and vice versa? This is information that scientists have struggled to visualize. So now they have turned to sound instead.
Privacy remains an issue with several women’s health apps
With millions of users globally, the women’s health app market is projected to cross $18 billion by 2031. Yet these apps are among the least trusted. They collect data about users’ menstrual cycles, sex lives and pregnancy status, as well as information such as phone numbers and email addresses. In recent years, some of these apps have come under scrutiny for privacy violations.
Tiny robots with polymer ‘hands’ capture bacteria and microplastics in water
Free-swimming bacteria are some of the peskiest water pollutants around. They can travel and spread very quickly. They also form films, adhering to the inner walls of tanks and pipes; in this state, they become far more antibiotic resistant. Researchers at Martin Pumera’s Future Energy and Innovation Lab at the Central European Institute of Technology have come up with a novel way to deal with these microbes.
What can period blood reveal about a person’s health?
When you think of getting tested for a disease, you might think first of nasal swabs, urine tests, blood draws. Even though around 1.8 billion people across the world menstruate, period blood doesn’t come to mind. But that might soon change. Earlier this year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the first time approved a health test based on period blood. The at-home test, which detects a biomarker for diabetes, offers an alternative to the blood draws typically required to diagnose the disease.
Explainer: What is autism?
Autism is a neurotype, meaning “brain type.” The term describes how the nervous system — especially the brain — has developed in some people. It affects how they see, hear, feel and interact with the world. The formal name for this lifelong condition is autism spectrum disorder, or ASD. However, some experts, including many autistic people, argue that it’s not a disorder. Instead, they explain, it’s just a different — and not-uncommon — type of brain development.
Wood Ink For 3D Printers Can Turn Old Scrap into New Parts
Wood is one of humanity’s oldest and most versatile building materials—but turning tree trunks into today’s plywood and two-by-fours generates huge amounts of waste. But researchers have now found a way to turn some of this waste into a wood “ink” that could eventually be used to 3D-print items such as furniture or architectural elements.
Flexible integrated circuits are now stretchable and more powerful
To make stretchable electronics, engineers must start with materials that can tolerate strain. That’s why the ability to endure being stretched is a sought-after quality in flexible electronics, especially for wearable and implantable devices for health monitoring and treatment. Recently, researchers at Stanford University have designed and developed materials that can be used to make better stretchable integrated circuits.
How a Moth’s Wings Create Ultrasonic Clicks
In engineering, the buckling of a structure, such as a bridge, often preempts its catastrophic failure. In nature, however, buckling can be a positive feature, providing a structure with new capabilities. For example, the buckling of ridge-like structures on the wings of an ermine moth can generate bursts of ultrasonic clicks that confuse its predators.
The Sophisticated Threads behind a Hat That Senses Traffic Lights
A team of electrical engineers and fabrics scientists has invented a hat that tells its wearer when it’s safe to cross the road. The researchers’ proof-of-concept beanie is knitted with germanium fibers that can sense changing traffic lights—and tell pedestrians with visual impairments when they’re clear to walk.
A set of 20 microbes could help zero in on the time of death
Estimating time of death is crucial in a murder investigation, and the process usually involves considering the complex interplay of an array of biological and environmental variables. Now, new research suggests a set of 20 microorganisms could help investigators pinpoint when someone died.
How to build an internet on Mars
When astronauts land on Mars, a couple of decades from now, perhaps, they’ll need to find a way to communicate — with each other, with equipment on and around the planet, and with mission control back on Earth. Despite living so far from home, they’ll no doubt want to connect with loved ones, keep their playlists up-to-date or stream the latest episodes of their favorite shows. But setting up a Wi-Fi connection to Earth’s internet won’t be an option. Earth is simply too far away.
Leo Gross wants to watch individual molecules react
Leo Gross is a physicist who has devoted his career to studying the fundamental secrets of chemistry—that is, how atoms and molecules behave and interact with one another. As leader of IBM’s atom and molecule manipulation group, in Zurich, Gross says his tools of choice are the scanning tunneling microscope (STM) and atomic force microscope (AFM).
First-Ever Biorobotic Heart Helps Scientists Study Cardiac Function
From artificial heart valves to cellular transplants, new treatments for cardiovascular ailments are being developed every day. To model how they work, researchers need a reliable way to observe the heart in action. So to tinker with the heart, scientists have now developed a beating, biorobotic replica that can simulate the workings of both a healthy organ and a diseased one.
A Newbie’s Guide to Traveling While Autistic
Like many late-diagnosed adults, finding out that I’m autistic was a relief. Suddenly, somehow, everything in my life made sense. Overnight, I had a name for that out-of-place feeling I’d had since I was a child. Finally, I belonged somewhere.
But it also meant that everything changed, including my self-perception and the way I engaged with things I enjoyed. No surprises, therefore, that when it came to traveling—something that my partner and I regularly did pre-pandemic—I was apprehensive. H...