Tech
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Tech
Facebook peer pressure gets out the vote
People were more likely to take part in the November 2010 election when they were told that their online friends already had.
- Tech
When Networks Network
Once studied solo, systems display surprising behavior when they interact.
- Tech
Unmixing oil and water
A new filter that separates the two substances only using gravity could help clean oil spills.
- Tech
Chameleon-like robot can change hue
Dye-filled microchannels help machine blend in, or stick out.
- Tech
Camera hack can spot cleaned-up crimes
Exploiting a standard tool of art conservation can help police find painted-over bloodstains.
- Tech
FDA bans BPA in baby bottles, cups
From now on, U.S. manufacturers may no longer produce polycarbonate baby bottles and sippy cups (for toddlers) if the clear plastic had been manufactured from bisphenol A, a hormone-mimicking compound. Long-awaited, the announcement is anything but a bold gesture. The Obama administration decided to lock this barn door after the cow had died.
- Tech
Interactive map like GPS for Roman Empire
A simulation calculates the cost in days and dinarii of shipping goods throughout the classical world.
- Tech
The descent of music
Using an evolutionary process, researchers create pleasing tunes out of grating noise.
- Tech
Court ‘shares’ researchers’ e-mails, intellectual property
“A situation has arisen involving scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) that should concern all those who value the principles of academic freedom and responsibility,” warns top WHOI officials. They were responding to a court order requiring that two WHOI scientists turn over 3,500 emails and other documents to BP. Included in the information was intellectual property that outsiders could exploit.
- Tech
Bacterial trick keeps robots in sync
Communicating information about the environment allows a stumbling machine to rejoin its group.
- Tech
Imperfect chip pretty darn good
Faster, smaller and more efficient, processors with that cut corners can still be good for some applications.
- Tech
DNA used as rewritable data storage in cells
Genetically encoded memory could track cell division inside the body.
