Feature

  1. Tech

    Designing robots to help in a disaster

    Ideally, robots could take over for human crews in disaster zones. But seemingly simple tasks, such as walking, communicating and staying powered up, still pose big challenges.

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  2. Earth

    Studying a volcano in a war zone

    New isotope analyses offer bad news for the people of Goma, a burgeoning city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Mount Nyiragongo may be more dangerous than expected.

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  3. Health & Medicine

    Children can suffer emotional wounds in a disaster

    Natural disasters and terrorist attacks have taught researchers that a subset of children may face long-term problems. Parent reactions and how quickly life returns to normal can make a difference.

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  4. Planetary Science

    A distant planet may lurk far beyond Neptune

    Strange orbits in the Kuiper belt revive talk of a Planet X in the solar system.

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  5. Psychology

    Rigors of Mars trip make teamwork a priority

    It’s going to take a different kind of mental approach to travel to Mars and back: less individuality, more collaboration and adaptability. Astronauts are being tested to prepare for such a mission.

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  6. Neuroscience

    At-home brain stimulation gaining followers

    People are building at-home electric brain stimulators in hopes of becoming better gamers, problem solvers, and even to beat back depression.

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  7. Math

    Spirals inspire walking aids for people with disabilities

    Long admired for their beauty, spirals have inspired a shoe that may help disabled people walk. The shapes make for a better crutch and an entertaining skateboard as well.

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  8. Astronomy

    Rosetta readies for its close rendezvous with a comet

    The Rosetta spacecraft and its lander Philae are ready to make history in a risky rendezvous with comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

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  9. Microbes

    Microbes can redeem themselves to fight disease

    With some genetic engineering, bacteria can morph from bad to good and help attack invading cancer cells.

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  10. Quantum Physics

    Quasiparticles help physicists make sense of the world

    To improve semiconductors, superconductors and other materials, physicists view a particle and its surroundings as one entity.

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  11. Plants

    Climbing high to save a threatened West Coast plant

    A group of scientists hopes to save a cliff-hugging plant threatened by invasive grasses, drought and fire in California’s Santa Monica Mountains.

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  12. Paleontology

    3-D scans reveal secrets of extinct creatures

    Paleontologists can dig into fossils without destroying them and see what’s inside using 3-D scanning. What they’re learning helps bring the past to life.

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