How to Make a Computer from a Living Cell
Genetic logic gates will enable biologists to program cells for chemical production and disease detection.If biologists could put computational controls inside living cells, they could program them to...
View ArticleTransparent Brains Reveal Hidden Microscopic Details
To study the microscopic structures of the brain researchers have typically had to dissect the organ into amazingly thin slices that can then be viewed on a microscope. Without doing this, any...
View ArticleA Gooey Cure for Crack-Prone High-Capacity Batteries
Polymer glue helps fracture-prone high-capacity batteries last through more charges.If electric cars are ever to drive hundreds of miles between charges—as they must to compete with gas-powered...
View ArticleFor Mice, and Maybe Men, Pain Is Gone in a Flash
Researchers find a way to turn pain on, and off, with a beam of light.Some of the mice squeaked in pain when researchers aimed a blue light at their paws. Other mice felt nothing at all when zapped...
View ArticleWireless Power for Minuscule Medical Implants
A novel way of powering implanted devices could enable new ways to control appetite, regulate insulin, and treat brain injuries.Medical implants like pacemakers, deep brain stimulators, and cochlear...
View ArticleAn Artificial Adhesive Outgrips the Gecko
Gecko-inspired adhesives can help humans climb and may provide a better grip for robotic arms in factories and in space.Forget Spider-man, and meet Geckoman. Researchers at Stanford University have...
View ArticleMaterial Cools Buildings by Sending Heat into Space
A new material that requires no electricity uses the universe as a heat sink—even when the sun is shining.A material that simultaneously reflects light and radiates heat at frequencies that vent it...
View ArticleA Cheap Material Boosts Solar Cells by 50 Percent
Researchers have found a way to augment ordinary silicon solar cells with a material called a perovskite.Putting a new kind of photovoltaic material on top of a conventional solar cell can boost...
View ArticleAmazon Robot Contest May Accelerate Warehouse Automation
Robots will use the latest computer-vision and machine-learning algorithms to try to perform the work done by humans in vast fulfillment centers.Packets of Oreos, boxes of crayons, and squeaky dog toys...
View ArticleSingle Cells Analyzed at Unprecedented Scale
A microscopic quest to find out what we’re really made of.How many types of cells are there in the human body? Textbooks say a couple of hundred. But the true number is undoubtedly far larger.
View ArticleEnergy Storage Gets a Boost from Nanotechnology
Manufactured materials could lead to breakthroughs in batteries, supercapacitors, and eventually carbon-capture systems.A group of Stanford researchers have come up with a nanoscale “designer carbon”...
View ArticleHow to Help Self-Driving Cars Make Ethical Decisions
Researchers are trying to program self-driving cars to make split-second decisions that raise real ethical questions.A philosopher is perhaps the last person you’d expect to have a hand in designing...
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