Uncategorized
- Tech
Octobot uses webbed arms to swim faster
Octopus-inspired robot could one day help researchers observe underwater ecosystems.
By Meghan Rosen - Materials Science
Making metamaterials ‘digital’ could simplify invisibility cloaks
The digital world of 1s and 0s has inspired a simpler way to make complex metamaterials.
By Andrew Grant - Life
Artificial sweeteners may tip scales toward metabolic problems
The artificial sweetener saccharin meddles with the gut’s microbial community, setting in motion metabolic changes associated with obesity and diabetes.
- Anthropology
Strategy, not habitat loss, leads chimps to kill rivals
Human impacts on chimpanzees have not increased their violence.
By Bruce Bower - Health & Medicine
Sleep drunkenness might be common
A new survey shows that about 15 percent of people sometimes wake up disoriented and confused, a condition called sleep drunkenness.
- Astronomy
Tweak to dark matter may explain Milky Way mystery
Dark matter weakly interacting with light in the early universe might have prevented satellite galaxies from forming around Milky Way, astronomers propose.
- Quantum Physics
Three photons entangled, not just two
Physicists have found a way to entangle a trio of photons, but it works only once in every quadrillion attempts.
By Andrew Grant - Tech
Hydrogen made using sunlight, cheap materials
Photosynthesis-inspired fuel cell uses water to make hydrogen gas and could feature in next-generation cars.
By Sam Lemonick - Agriculture
Drug-resistant staph can cling to farm workers for days
Agricultural exposure to staph bacteria could threaten the health of laborers and people who live near farms, a study of pig farm workers suggests.
By Beth Mole - Health & Medicine
Mass EKG screening for athletes inadvisable, panel says
Only athletes with warning signs of cardiac problems should be tested with electrocardiograms, according to the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology.
By Laura Beil - Particle Physics
Evidence for new Higgs-related particle fades away
A close look at data from the Large Hadron Collider finds no evidence that the Higgs boson decays into a new, unknown particle.
By Andrew Grant - Astronomy
Mystery of missing lithium extends beyond Milky Way
Stars in cluster Messier 54, part of a nearby dwarf galaxy, have just as little lithium as stars in the Milky Way, suggesting that the mystery of the missing element is universal.