Tech
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Tech
Reaching for Rays
Harnessing the sun's rays cheaply and efficiently could address the planet's energy needs.
- Computing
Lost in transportation
A new algorithm might make online driving directions more accurate.
- Computing
Computer, Name That Tune!
Computers can analyze music mathematically and use the result to track down songs, without even knowing the composer, performer, or title.
- Tech
A New Low: Lilliputian pipette releases tiniest drops
Physicists have constructed a pipette that dispenses a billionth of a trillionth of a liter.
- Tech
Wanted: Better Yardsticks
A new federal survey has found that a lack of measurement tools may jeopardize the United States' edge in technological innovation.
- Computing
The Machine’s Got Rhythm
By teaching computers how to transcribe musical recordings, a relatively mundane task, researchers are opening new musical possibilities.
- Tech
Pictures Posing Questions
Radical new forms of photography use computation to transcend the limits of traditional cameras.
- Tech
Is Your Phone Out of Juice? Biological fuel cell turns drinks into power
A new type of fuel cell uses natural enzymes to produce small amounts of electricity from sugar.
- Tech
EPA council sets priorities
The Environmental Protection Agency's Science Policy Council has outlined the agency's nanotechnology-research needs.
- Computing
Games Theory
Online games can not only entertain but also provide valuable data for researchers tackling computer-vision and other tough computational problems.
- Tech
Unlocking the Gaits: Robot tests locomotion switch
A blocky, bright-yellow robot that would look at home in a toy chest moves like a salamander, just as its inventors intended.
- Tech
Transferred Touch: Sensory rewiring to improve prosthetics
Transferring a lost limb's nerves to other areas of the body might one day permit an amputee to feel the heat of a coffee cup with an artificial hand.
