For collected links on various topcs, see newatlas notes
Researchers have created a tiny chip that can take images of objects through cardboard. The technology, designed to fit inside a smartphone, brings us a step closer to wielding Superman’s X-ray vision abilities (without the X-rays).
Included in Superman’s suite of superpowers is X-ray vision, which allows him to see through solid objects. Using Superman as their inspiration, researchers from the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) and the Seoul National University (SNU) have brought the ability to see into packages and through walls closer to being a reality using an imager chip small enough to fit into a smartphone.
https://newatlas.com/science/microchip-imaging-device-handheld/
Multirotor drones may get all the glory, but fully rotating "monocopters" are actually much more energy-efficient. A new one distinguishes itself even further, as it can squeeze through narrow spaces or drop like a falcon by reducing its wingspan while in fligh
https://newatlas.com/drones/frow-monocopter-drone-adjustable-wingspan/
We've seen some impressive nature-inspired flying bots from the creative minds at Festo's Bionic Learning Network over the years, but the autonomous BionicBee is not only the smallest so far but also the first capable of swarming. {And what do you do with them?}
https://newatlas.com/robotics/festo-bionicbee
The weak gravitational pull on a particle just half the mass of a grain of sand has been measured for the first time. This most precise measurement of its kind is a breakthrough towards the quantum realm and a potential Theory of Everything.
Of the universe’s four fundamental forces – gravity, electromagnetism, and the strong and weak nuclear forces— gravity is the one we’re most familiar with in everyday life, but it’s actually the only one that we can’t currently explain using the Standard Model of particle physics, our best system for describing the universe. Finding a way to jam it in there would achieve a Holy Grail of science—a Theory of Everything.
https://newatlas.com/physics/quantum-gravity-smallest-measurement-theory-everything/
Water striders are fascinating to watch, as they scoot across the water while supported by surface tension. Scientists have now built a tiny robotic version of the insect, which utilizes a record-breaking actuator to get a move on.
The WaterStrider robot was created at Washington State University, by a team led by Assoc. Prof. Néstor O. Pérez-Arancibia and engineering PhD student Conor Trygstad. The researchers also built a smaller, simpler water-bug-inspired robot called the MiniBug.
https://newatlas.com/robotics/robotic-water-strider-shape-memory-actuator/
Looking to nature can often provide inspiration, especially in construction. Researchers have studied how wind travels through the complex internal structure of a termite mound in hopes that it will one day inform the construction of a building that can semi-passively regulate its own climate. Species of mound-building termites are found in Africa, Australia, and South America. Some mounds are astounding examples of intricate architecture, reaching 26 ft (8 m) high and having 98 ft (30 m) diameters. Their hardy construction means they often outlive the termite colonies that inhabit them.
https://newatlas.com/architecture/termite-mounds-climate-regulating-buildings/
Scientists have created a new light-activated ink that can change color on demand. It’s made up of microbeads of different colors that rise or sink in response to different wavelengths of light so that its surface appears as a specific color, which could be useful for new electronic displays or active camouflage systems.
Cephalopods like octopuses and squid are well known for their ability to change color, and they do this using organs called chromatophores. These are made up of tiny sacs of pigment that can expand or contract at will, and the combinations of which colored pigments are visible or hidden at any given time grants the animal’s skin a specific color or pattern.
https://newatlas.com/materials/color-changing-ink-displays-active-camouflage-octopus/
We’re willing to bet you’ve never given much thought to how bugs urinate, but even if you did you probably wouldn’t imagine them using butt-based pinball paddles to flick drops of pee at 40 G’s, using physics never before seen in nature. The glassy-winged sharpshooter is the insect that gets the gold for golden showers, in both volume – it pees up to 300 times its own body weight every day – and speed, flicking away droplets faster than the human eye can see. And, it turns out, you don’t get to be number one in “number ones” without some weird physics hacks.
https://newatlas.com/biology/sharpshooter-bug-urinate-superpropulsion/
Researchers have created a new class of robots that can shift between solid and liquid forms on demand. In a series of tests, these new bots could move and change shape to run obstacle courses, carry objects, or even escape from a jail cell like a Terminator.
https://newatlas.com/materials/robot-shape-shifting-matter-solid-liquid/
The next time an inquisitive four-year-old asks how many ants there are on Earth, you can be ready to fire back a specific number. Researchers in Germany have scoured the scientific literature to come up with an answer to that question, as well as the inevitable follow-up – how much do they all weigh combined?
The scientists, from Julius Maximilians University (JMU), say they started the study because there hadn’t been a reliable estimate of the total number of ants on the planet, or how common they were in different habitats. So the team took on the momentous task of counting up these industrious little insects themselves.
https://newatlas.com/science/how-many-ants-total-earth/
Scientists in China have set a new world record for the strongest steady magnetic field ever generated on Earth. The hybrid magnet managed to produce a field measuring 45.22 Tesla (T), which is over a million times stronger than the planet’s own.
https://newatlas.com/physics/worlds-strongest-steady-magnetic-field/
We know spider silk carries some amazing capabilities, with its light weight, incredible elasticity and a status as one of nature's strongest materials. Scientists have made another extraordinary discovery in this area, finding that orb-weaving spiders use their webs as an array to extend their sense of hearing, a finding that could lead to advanced new forms of audio hardware.
https://newatlas.com/science/spiders-hearing-webs-audio-arrays/
Bubbles aren't known for their lengthy lifespans, usually only giving a few seconds or minutes of childlike joy before they pop. But a team of French scientists has developed a new way to make longer-lasting bubbles, with the record holder surviving for well over a year.
https://newatlas.com/science/gas-marble-bubble-survive-465-days/
Energy storage devices that bend, flex and can be worked into fabrics could have a big part to play in the future of wearable electronics, and MIT engineers have just produced one with some unique properties. The rechargeable lithium-ion battery is only a few hundred microns thick but 140 meters (460 ft) long, and could be integrated into ordinary clothing, and be produced at lengths far greater than that.
https://newatlas.com/energy/worlds-longest-flexible-fiber-battery/
Water can take on far more forms than many people give it credit for, and now scientists have recreated a particularly bizarre one in the lab—a "hot black ice" that may exist deep inside planets like Uranus and Neptune. This phase of water is known as superionic ice, and it forms under extremely high temperatures and pressures, causing the water molecules to separate into their constituent hydrogen and oxygen ions. The oxygen ions then arrange themselves into a cube-shaped lattice, around which the hydrogen ions move freely. Altogether, this gives superionic ice a relatively high conductivity and low density, and a darker color.
https://newatlas.com/physics/superionic-ice-created-planets/
You may think that water strider insects move across the water's surface simply by wiggling their legs, but they actually utilize what is known as the Maragoni effect. Scientists have now utilized the phenomenon in a tiny, silent, water-striding robot.
https://newatlas.com/science/robotic-water-strider/
Scientists pushing the frontiers of soft robotics continue to find inspiration in the animal kingdom, with the latest examples that move like inchworms and earthworms deploying some novel sensor technology. The stretchy new robots make use of flexible electronics and cutting-edge sensors to perceive their own body positioning, which could help them squeeze through confined spaces.
https://newatlas.com/robotics/worm-inspired-robot-senses-body-position/
Among other things, the mantis shrimp is known for having the fastest punch of any animal. Harvard scientists have now built a mechanism that simulates that punch, and they believe that it could lead to new capabilities for human technologies.
https://newatlas.com/science/punching-robot-mantis-shrimp/
Normally metals and insulators sit at opposite ends of a spectrum of conductivity, but researchers have discovered a material that can switch between those states freely, even at room temperature. The material, a compound of manganese and sulfide (MnS2), starts off as an insulator but becomes conductive under pressure.
https://newatlas.com/materials/manganese-compound-metal-insulator-conductor-pressure-mns2/
Have you ever wondered how many bubbles there are in your Friday knockoff beer? No? Well scientists apparently have, and in a new study they've finally answered the question nobody's been asking, with a vague a lot, we guess.
https://newatlas.com/science/how-many-bubbles-beer/
Even diffuse objects like clouds or sugar cubes cast shadows, because they're disordered media that scatter light waves. But now, researchers at TU Wien and Utrecht University have found a way to manipulate light waves to pass through, projecting an image on the other side as clearly as if the obstacle wasn’t there.
https://newatlas.com/physics/light-scattering-opaque-bypass/
Of the four fundamental forces, gravity is the one we're most familiar with in our everyday lives, but perhaps surprisingly, it's the weakest and hardest to measure here on Earth. Now, physicists in Austria have made the smallest measurement of gravity so far, equivalent to the gravitational pull of a ladybug.
https://newatlas.com/physics/smallest-gravitational-pull-measured-ladybug/
Materials get their optical properties based on how much they reflect, absorb or transmit different wavelengths (colors) of light. Usually optical coatings either reflect or transmit a given color of light, but now researchers at the University of Rochester have developed a new class of optical coating that can both transmit and reflect the same wavelengths at the same time.
https://newatlas.com/materials/optical-coating-reflects-transmits-fano-resonance/
Wombats are the only animal in the world known to produce cubic poo. Until a few years ago it was assumed the feces was moulded into a square shape on its way out of the animal, but some robust research published in 2018 finally solved the mystery. It was revealed that wombats have a unique intestinal structure that can shape its poo into cubes before leaving the body. The resulting defecation is, quite literally, akin to squeezing a square peg through a round hole.
https://newatlas.com/biology/square-wombat-poo-method-replicated/
Mundane as it may seem, glass is a surprisingly mysterious material. Now scientists at the University of Konstanz have identified a new state of matter called liquid glass, which has some unusual properties.
https://newatlas.com/materials/liquid-glass-new-state-matter/
By combining magnetic materials with magnetic fields, robotics researchers continue to develop machines that can be remotely manipulated in all kinds of useful ways, such as somersault through the colon or crawl through blood vessels to deliver drugs. Scientists at the City University of Hong Kong have developed a new type of spray-on coating they say can give regular objects these kinds of capabilities, with particular potential in biomedical applications.
https://newatlas.com/robotics/magnetic-spray-objects-robot-walk-roll-crawl/
By getting up close and personal with the intricate mechanics of bird flight, scientists continue to unlock secrets that can aid in their pursuit of advanced aerodynamics, and that may include aircraft that generate a lot less noise. Scientists in Europe have developed a new type of aerofoil they say could lead to important gains in this area, by simulating the microstructures on owl feathers that allow the birds to hunt their prey in silence.
https://newatlas.com/aircraft/owl-flight-aerofoil-low-noise-aircraft/
Superconductors—materials in which electricity flows without any resistance whatsoever—could be extremely useful for future electronics. Now, engineers at the University of Tokyo have managed to create a superconductor out of a state of matter called a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) for the first time ever.
https://newatlas.com/physics/bose-einstein-condensate-superconductor/
Researchers at Leiden University in the Netherlands have created what.s probably the world.s smallest boat. Measuring just 30 microns long, the tiny model was 3D printed as part of a project investigating how to make synthetic .microswimmers. in complex shapes.
https://newatlas.com/3d-printing/worlds-smallest-boat-3d-printed/
Physicists in Germany have measured the shortest timespan ever recorded. The team measured the time it takes for a photon of light to travel the length of a hydrogen molecule, and found it to occur in just trillionths of a billionth of a second.
https://newatlas.com/physics/shortest-event-ever-measured-zeptoseconds/
By putting a new spin on decades-old thermoelectric technology, scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have developed a tiny microscopic cooling device they describe as the "world's smallest refrigerator." It's hardly the place to keep leftovers from spoiling or your beers cold on a summer's day, but the team hopes this nanoscale device can act as a springboard for advanced systems that cool things almost instantaneously.
https://newatlas.com/electronics/worlds-smallest-refrigerator-one-cubic-micrometer/
The natural world is a great source of inspiration for scientists working on advanced adhesives, where everything from gecko skin to bee slobber have provided blueprints for next-generation materials with supreme stickiness. The latest example, inspired by the clingy footpads of flies, can be attached and detached over and over like a piece of Velcro.
https://newatlas.com/materials/adhesive-cheap-reusable-inspired-flies-biomimicry/
Remember Martin Molin's Music Machine X, the mechanical, musical Rube Goldberg machine that uses some 3,000 components and a hand-turned crank to drop marbles in sequences onto acoustic and electric surfaces? A ridiculously complex way to make music, but then, ridiculous complexity is kind of the point with these machines. Molin and the Music Machine have been touring the world together with a band under the name Wintergatan.
https://newatlas.com/music/love-hulten-marble-machine-music/
Researchers have for the first time managed to use electricity to switch on magnetism in a material that.s normally non-magnetic. The find could be a step towards making electronic components out of common materials that might not otherwise be suitable.
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The wonder material graphene can take many forms for many different purposes, from transparent films that repel mosquitoes to crumpled balls that could boost the safety of batteries. One that has scientists particularly excited is nanoribbons for applications in energy storage and computing, but producing these ultra-thin strips of graphene has proven a difficult undertaking. Scientists are claiming a breakthrough in this area, devising a method that has enabled them to efficiently produce graphene nanoribbons directly on the surface of semiconductors for the first time.
https://newatlas.com/materials/atom-assembly-cheap-graphene-nanoribbons/
More than 100 years after a pair of imaginative physicists first proposed a new phase of liquid crystal, scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder have managed to produce it and have been left "stunned" by its behavior. This new "ferroelectric nematic" phase has proven highly responsive to electrical fields, and by improving the understanding of its unique behavior, the team is hopeful it could lead to an entirely—new universe—of materials.
https://newatlas.com/materials/ferroelectric-nematic-phase-liquid-crystal/
Of all the superpowers in the animal kingdom, the squid's ability to turn invisible is one of the coolest. And now scientists at the University of California, Irvine have managed to recreate that in human cells for the first time, granting them tuneable transparency.
https://newatlas.com/science/engineered-human-cells-transparent-squid-proteins/
Most of us are familiar with the four classical states of matter—solid, liquid, gas and plasma—but there's a whole world of exotic states out there. Now, physicists at Radboud and Uppsala Universities have identified a new one named "self-induced spin glass," which could be used to build new artificial intelligence platforms.
https://newatlas.com/physics/self-induced-spin-glass-new-state-matter/
The best phone cameras can record slow motion with under 1,000 frames per second. Commercial rigs generally shoot with several thousand. But that all absolutely pales in comparison to the new record holder for the world's fastest camera, boasting a find-boggling rate of 70 trillion frames per second. That's fast enough to capture light waves in movement.
https://newatlas.com/electronics/worlds-fastest-camera-70-trillion-frames-per-second/
Some natural organisms, such as bone and coral reefs, have an incredible ability to adjust to varying amounts of stress, drawing on nearby minerals for structural reinforcements as the need arises. Scientists at Johns Hopkins University have succeeded in replicating this adaptive mineralization process in the lab, showing off a new type of material that alters its stiffness as more force is applied.
https://newatlas.com/materials/self-reinforcing-material-strength-force-bone-john-hopkins/
We already knew that copper kills bacteria on contact, as it releases ions that rupture bacterial cell membranes. The material could soon do so faster than ever, however, thanks to a new laser-based surface treatment.
https://newatlas.com/health-wellbeing/laser-treatment-copper-antibacterial/
Scientists are exploring the potential of using the urine of astronauts to help build some of the first moon bases. By using resources harvested from the Moon, with a little help form astronauts too, it is hoped that lunar settlers will be able to cut down on the prohibitive cost of transporting construction materials from Earth.
https://newatlas.com/space/astronaut-urine-plasticizer-moon-base/
omputers can already boast superhuman sensory abilities in sight and hearing, but smell has been much more difficult. The human nose isn't a particularly good one compared to the rest of the animal kingdom, but it's still a complex piece of machinery, with around 450 different types of olfactory receptors.
https://newatlas.com/science/intel-neuromorphic-loihi-smells/
ce and airplane wings don.t mix particularly well, with the added weight making it hard for the aircraft to take off, or causing it potentially catastrophic problems once in the air. Scientists are continually looking at better ways to address this problem, among them a Northwestern University team that is claiming a new surface coating inspired by leaves can reduce frost formation by up to 60 percent.
The special coating was developed by researchers at Northwestern.s School of Engineering, who took inspiration from the way frost forms, or doesn.t, on leaves. They feature tiny peaks and valleys, presenting a rippling geometry that makes it impossible for frost to build uniformly across their surface.
https://newatlas.com/materials/frost-free-surfaces-inspired-mint-leaves/
Concrete is the world's most widely-used building material thanks to its incredible strength . but it doesn't stand up well against bending. Now, researchers at Swinburne University have developed a new type of concrete that can not only bend better, but doesn't require cement to make, reducing its environmental footprint.
https://newatlas.com/materials/cement-free-bendable-concrete/
Researchers in Europe and the UK have managed to connect biological and artificial neurons together . and allow them to communicate long distances through the internet. The biological neurons were grown in one country, sent signals through an artificial synapse located in another to electronic neurons in a third country.
https://newatlas.com/computers/biological-artificial-neurons-connect-communicate/
Engineers from Johns Hopkins have looked to how snakes move around to inform the design of a nimble new robot. It is hoped that the development could lead to search and rescue bots able to tackle all kinds of obstacles with ease.
https://newatlas.com/robotics/snake-inspired-robot-chen-li-qiyuan-fu/
In exploring the properties and potential of a theoretical material, scientists at Rice University have developed a real structure with some very real stopping power. The team.s 3D-printed cube of latticed polymers is littered with holes, but in testing it proved to be nearly as hard as a diamond and capable of stopping bullets with impressive effectiveness.
https://newatlas.com/materials/rice-university-3d-print-bulletproof-blocks-tubulane/
Out of all the cool-looking forms that robots can take — humanoid, dogs, fish, crocodiles, snakes, birds, or disembodied arms — a cube seems like a pretty boring choice. But MIT's new take on the robotic block is smarter than it looks. These cute little cube bots can roll and tumble around, recognize each other, and stack themselves into whatever shape is needed.
https://newatlas.com/robotics/mit-mblock-autonomous-modular-robots/
As vital as they are, refrigeration and air conditioning are known to consume huge amounts of electricity, inspiring engineers to come up with new ways to improve efficiency. To help with that, researchers have developed an unusual new technique that could lead to "twist fridges", which cool by unravelling fibers that are tensely twisted.
https://newatlas.com/materials/twist-fridges-cool-down-unraveling-fibers/
Normally when it comes to metals, there.s a trade-off to be made between strength and electrical conductivity, but a new class of materials could change that. A team of researchers has managed to take advantage of defects to make silver much stronger than usual, while still being conductive. Not only that, but it actually breaks through a theoretical limit that.s stood for decades.
https://newatlas.com/materials/worlds-strongest-silver-breaks-theoretical-limit/
Engineers at MIT are developing a way to turn the humble RFID tag into a light-powered sensor for the internet of things. Based on thin-film perovskite cells, the goal is to create inexpensive, internet-connected sensors that can operate without batteries or other outside power sources for months or even years.
https://newatlas.com/technology/mit-light-powered-rfid-tags-internet-of-things/
Whether we like it or not, there are now a lot of people walking around with earbuds jammed into their ears. Scientists from the University at Buffalo decided to see if they could put those buds to extra use, so they designed a system that allows the devices to help verify smartphone users' identities.
https://newatlas.com/good-thinking/earecho-earbud-identification/
With an ability to soak up 99.96 percent of the light that hits it, the material known as Vantablack has earned plenty of attention as the world's blackest material, with scientists testing it in space and BMW using it to give its X6 SUV an eye-catching paint job. But MIT engineers are now claiming to have produced a material 10 times blacker than anything before it, an advance that could have useful benefits for space exploration in particular.
https://newatlas.com/materials/mit-engineers-blackest-material-on-earth/
Flying robots hold all kinds of promise when operating over dry land, but what could ones that use bodies of water as a base bring to the table? With an eye on water sampling and environmental monitoring, scientists at Imperial College London have developed a robot inspired by the flying fish, in that it can generate enough power to launch itself out of the water and glide through the air as a way of overcoming obstacles in its path.
https://newatlas.com/robotics/flying-fish-robot-surrounding-water-fuel/
Although we've seen color-changing coatings before, they generally just switch between two solid colors. MIT scientists have developed a new system, however, that allows coated objects to take on intricate multi-colored patterns when exposed to ultraviolet light.
https://newatlas.com/science/photochromeleon-uv-light-coloring/
The remora is a fascinating fish, not least because of a strong suction cup-like structure on the back of its head, allowing it to latch onto larger animals for protection and transport. Now researchers at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) have designed a remora-inspired suction cup that.s far more adhesive than the real thing.
https://newatlas.com/materials/remora-inspired-suction-cup-performs-better-than-the-real-thing/
Keeping electronic devices cool is vital in order to keep them functioning properly, but the components used to contain the heat can add quite a bit of bulk to their overall size. Electrical engineers at Stanford University have developed a promising, atomically-thin alternative based on graphene that offers excellent thermal insulation, despite being 50,000 times thinner than a sheet of paper.
https://newatlas.com/materials/stanfords-graphene-heat-shield-10-atoms/
If you've had trouble picking up your pet jellyfish with your deep-sea submersible, take heart. Researchers at Harvard.s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), and Baruch College at City University of New York have developed ultra-soft, ultra-gentle robotic grippers with fettuccine-like hydraulic fingers that can grasp and release jellyfish and other very soft marine animals without harming them.
https://newatlas.com/science/ultra-soft-robotic-grippers-gentle-jellyfish/
If you build a soft, conformable robot body but then put rigid, unyielding actuators inside of it, you're kind of defeating the whole purpose of the thing. With that in mind, Korean scientists have created pliable artificial muscles for use in soft robotics.
https://newatlas.com/artificial-muscles-soft-robotics/
Although jellyfish may not be the fastest animals in the ocean, they do swim in an energy-efficient manner—a manner that underwater robots might do well to copy. With that in mind, Chinese scientists have created a robotic jellyfish, that may someday autonomously explore the briny depths.
https://newatlas.com/untethered-robot-jellyfish/60924/
As a flat sheet of carbon atoms arranged in a lattice, graphene is pretty simple, and yet it keeps surprising scientists with new properties. For the latest in a long line of breakthroughs, a team from Stanford has shown that graphene arranged in a specific way can generate a magnetic field. That's surprising enough, but it turns out this particular form of magnetism has previously only been theorized.
https://newatlas.com/graphene-new-form-magnetism/60770/
Magnets as we know them are always solid, but the closest thing we have to a magnetic liquid is a class called of liquids called ferrofluids. Made up of iron-oxide particles suspended in liquids, these materials are only magnetic temporarily, when exposed to other magnets. But now, researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have managed to create the first permanently magnetic liquids, which could open up new avenues for electronics and robotics.
https://newatlas.com/liquid-magnet-droplets/60663/
In a demonstration that less can be more, EPFL scientists are working on simple robots that behave and cooperate like ants. The 10-g (0.35-oz) Tribots are simple, tetherless, reconfigurable three-legged robots that are folded like origami, but have the ability to be assigned roles and work together on complex tasks as they jump and crawl over uneven terrain.
https://newatlas.com/tiny-ant-tribot-robots/60524/
Incredibly thin, flexible, strong and electrically conductive, graphene has the potential to revolutionize electronics and materials. One of the main hurdles though is that it's tricky to manufacture on large scales. Now researchers at the University of Rochester have recruited bacteria to make the stuff, which is cheaper and faster than current methods and doesn't require harsh chemicals.
https://newatlas.com/bacteria-make-graphene/60529/
We've been following the exploits of Harvard's tiny Robobee for a few years now, from its first controlled flight, then learning to swim and perch, and rising out of the water with style. Until recently, it's been powered via a wire tether, but researchers have cut the cord by installing teeny solar panels on the little robotic insect.
https://newatlas.com/robobee-x-wing-untethered-flight/60338/
A team of engineers at Cornell's Organic Robotics Lab has built a soft-bodied robotic lionfish powered by electric blood, which not only serves as an energy source, but acts hydraulically to create propulsion as well. This bio-inspired approach addresses one of the great challenges for small, untethered robots—mass vs. power.
https://newatlas.com/electric-blood-powered-robot-fish/60226/
Debate has long raged over the reasons for a zebra's stripes, with scientists spending decades theorizing over the evolutionary causes for the animal's iconic patterns. A new study has shed further light on this topic, uncovering new evidence that suggests the stripes are indeed used to help zebras control their temperature, even describing a previously unknown mechanism they use to keep them cool.
https://newatlas.com/zebra-cooling-stripes-wild/60126/
For years now, scientists have marvelled at the insulating qualities of polar bear fur, suggesting that it could inspire manmade heat-retaining materials. Well, Chinese researchers have now developed just such a substance, which reportedly outperforms real fur.
https://newatlas.com/polar-bear-fur-insulating-aerogel/60043/
Besides slinging webs and kissing while hanging upside down, Spider-Man's most famous ability is his "spidey-sense," allowing the hero to sense danger in advance and react with lightning speed. That's not purely fiction either—spiders have tiny, sensitive hairs on their legs that help them avoid predators or hunt prey. And now, engineers at Purdue University have developed similar sensors that could be used in autonomous cars or drones.
https://newatlas.com/spider-hair-sensors-drones-autonomous-cars/59768/
A team led by Gabriel Blaj, a staff scientist at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University, has generated what may be the loudest possible underwater sound. Using SLAC's Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) X-ray laser, the researchers blasted tiny jets of water to create incredible sound pressures above 270 decibels.
https://newatlas.com/loudest-possible-sound/59746/
Combining, among other things, suction cups and shower hoses, robotics researchers have created a flexible-bodied wall-climbing robot said to be inspired by one of nature's congenital suckers: the leech. Said robot, dubbed LEeCH for reasons we shall explore presently, can climb vertical surfaces in any direction and—notably—make the transition from one side of the wall to the other. The researchers are calling it a "world's first achievement in developing soft and flexible robot that is capable of free movement on a wall."
https://newatlas.com/leech-climbing-robot/59646/
Squids, octopi and cuttlefish are able to change the color of their skin thanks to specialized cells known as chromatophores. Scientists have now replicated the manner in which those cells work, resulting in a flexible material that can either trap or release heat as needed.
https://newatlas.com/squid-inspired-heat-material/59473/
MIT's robotic cheetah has gained a new sidekick, and the nimble sibling of the four-legged galloping droid has a few impressive tricks of its own. Smaller, lighter and not to be outshone, the Mini Cheetah's acrobatics have been showcased in a video shared by the researchers, including some very natural looking movements and a gracefully executed backflip.
https://newatlas.com/mit-cheetah-robot-backflip/58709/
Early last year, a team from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) revealed a snake-inspired soft robot that harnessed kirigami, the ancient Japanese art of paper cutting, to propel itself along. Now some tweaks have given the robot boosts in both speed in precision.
https://newatlas.com/snake-inspired-kirigami-programmable-robot/59395/
Scientists at the University of Cambridge, UK, and the Universitat Polit?nica de Catalunya and the Universitat de Barcelona, Spain, have developed a way to replace the organic gases used in most conventional refrigerators. By using crystals of neopentyl glycol under pressure, it may be possible to build safer, greener, and more efficient cooling systems.
https://newatlas.com/plastic-crystals-solid-state-refrigerators/59376/
Back in 2016, a scientist from Germany's University of Bonn discovered how the African elephantnose fish can switch between its visual and electrical sensory systems. Now, a team led by that same researcher has developed a camera which mimics the fish's electrical sense of "sight."
https://newatlas.com/elephantnose-fish-murky-water-camera/59219/
Most robots are usually made to do one particular job, so they're not very adaptable to new situations. But that might change with a set of robots developed by researchers at MIT, Harvard, Columbia and Cornell Universities. These "particle robots," as the team calls them, are simple, circular devices that can connect to each other magnetically to move and work as a swarm.
https://newatlas.com/robotic-particles-swarm/58963/
A German research team has prototyped an extraordinary heating/cooling system that stresses and unloads nickel-titanium "muscle wires" to create heated and cooled air at twice the efficiency of a heat pump or three times the efficiency of an air conditioner. Crucially, the device also uses no refrigerant gases, meaning it's a much more environmentally friendly way to heat or cool a space.
https://newatlas.com/shape-memory-alloy-nitinol-heating-cooling/58837/
iFive years ago, French aeronautical engineer Edwin Van Ruymbeke successfully crowdfunded his Bionic Bird—it's a remote-control model that flies by flapping its wings, just like a real bird. Now he's back, with the insect-inspired MetaFly.
https://newatlas.com/metafly-flying-model-insect/58765/
Traditionally, welding has been limited to materials that share similar properties, so it's tough to make even aluminum and steel join forces. But now, scientists from Heriot-Watt University are claiming a breakthrough method that can weld together materials as different as glass and metal, thanks to ultrafast laser pulses.
https://newatlas.com/welding-glass-metal-lasers/58726/
It's no secret that spider silk is one of nature's most incredible materials. It's light and stretchy, as strong as steel and tougher than Kevlar—and now scientists have discovered a weird new ability. A team led by MIT has found that when exposed to a certain level of humidity, spider silk suddenly shrinks and twists, which could make it useful in artificial muscles.
https://newatlas.com/spider-silk-twist-artificial-muscles/58708/
Metal fibers are strong, but can't be stretched very far. Rubber fibers are stretchy, but they're not very strong. Well, scientists have combined the selling points of both materials into one type of hybrid fiber. It could be used in applications such as soft robotics, packaging materials, or high-tech textiles.
https://newatlas.com/gallium-polymer-tough-fiber/58632/
Although LEDs are far more energy-efficient than incandescent bulbs, most commercial models are reportedly only about 50 percent efficient at emitting the light that they generate. This is known as their light extraction efficiency, and researchers have drastically increased it by copying fireflies.
https://newatlas.com/fireflies-microstructures-leds/58567/
Although concrete doesn't burn, it can "spall" when subjected to extreme heat—this means that surface layers of the material explosively break off, potentially causing structures made from it to collapse. According to a new study, however, fibers obtained from discarded tires can help keep that from happening.
https://newatlas.com/old-tires-concrete-spalling/58562/
Researchers have developed 3D-printed materials that can repair themselves after becoming fractured or punctured, which have the potential to be a game changer in the shoe industry, tire manufacture, soft robotics development and perhaps even electronics.
In the modern day, we're used to being able to send messages to specific people over long distances, usually by way of a phone. But now, scientists at MIT have developed a way to use a laser to beam an audible message through thin air to a person standing on the other side of a room, so that only they can hear it.
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When you imagine robots, you probably aren't picturing stretchy meshes that can float on water, but that's exactly what researchers at North Carolina State University have developed. These soft structures are 3D printed and embedded with magnetic particles that let them stretch and compress to pick up and move small objects.
https://newatlas.com/soft-mesh-robots/58184/
We can all agree that science is amazing. However, sometimes scientists do get a little niche in their studies ... and things can get a bit strange. Here is a list of the weirdest science stories we came across this year, from twerking robots to bizarre snail-to-snail memory transference and a Fountain of Youth sarcophagus conspiracy that pretty much sums up 2018 in a nutshell.
https://newatlas.com/weird-bizarre-2018-science-stories/57800/
It sounds like a scene from Ant-Man, but this is very much real life: scientists at MIT have devised a super shrinking system that can produce 3D nanoscale versions of much larger, custom-made objects, reducing them to around one thousandth the size of the originals.
https://newatlas.com/mit-3d-objects-nanoscale-shrink/57688/
The cheetah probably comes to mind first when you think of fast animals, but the records for fastest individual movements are far stranger. Mystrium camillae, a rare species of Dracula ant found in Southeast Asia and Australia, has now snapped up the crown for fastest animal movement on record, clicking its mandibles at blistering speeds that can stun prey.
https://newatlas.com/dracula-ant-fastest-animal-movement/57648/
Also known as nacre, mother of pearl is the hard iridescent coating found on the outside of pearls, and the inside of certain mollusc's shells. It's one of nature's hardest, stiffest, most stable materials—and Swiss scientists have now figured out how to make an artificial version of it, which can be "tuned" for different applications.
https://newatlas.com/artificial-mother-of-pearl/57616/
The superhero-like abilities of the humble gecko have inspired countless avenues of scientific research, and biologists have uncovered yet another incredible talent to add to the list. The researchers have found that the enterprising lizard species also has the ability to run on water, a capability that could lead to the development of advanced robots that do the same thing.
https://newatlas.com/scientists-discover-geckos-run-water/57567/
A team of MIT engineers has flown what was long thought impossible—a heavier than air craft that needs no moving parts for achieving powered lift. The 5-lb (2.3-kg) prototype with a 16-ft (5-m) wingspan doesn't use propellers, turbines, or fans, but instead relied on a silent stream of ionized air to maintain steady flight on an indoor course of over 197 ft (60 m) at MIT's duPont Athletic Center.
https://newatlas.com/mit-ion-flight-solid-state-aircraft/57326/
Melting gold normally requires temperatures upwards of 1,064° C (1,947° F), but physics is never quite that simple. A team of researchers has now found a way to melt gold at room temperature using an electric field and an electron microscope.
https://newatlas.com/gold-melt-room-temperature/57327/
Wombat poo has mystified scientists for years. The shy Australian marsupial is unique for being the only animal in the world to produce cubic poo. A team of researchers has finally uncovered exactly how this quiet animal produces its square feces, and the discovery could lead to novel manufacturing techniques.
https://newatlas.com/wombat-square-poo-study/57289/
Could your home one day be powered by patches of mushrooms? Probably not, but scientists have nonetheless created a "bionic mushroom" that does indeed generate electricity—and it may pave the way for more practical bio-electric systems.
https://newatlas.com/bionic-mushroom/57134/
The tractor beam is a long-serving staple of sci-fi, but now Australian researchers have created a new type of real-world version. While it won't exactly be capturing enemy spaceships anytime soon, the device can use light to pull in and trap atoms, which may be handy for quantum communications or memory systems.
https://newatlas.com/tractor-beam-atoms-laser/57033/
Just what could you do with these ideas and inventions? What applications are possible? If an application is mentioned in the following, for example, medical, think of some other non-medical applications.
Light is the fastest thing we know of, so it makes sense to tap into it for ultra-fast communication systems. Fiber optics do just that, allowing us to precisely guide where we want to send messages, but speed isn't the only factor—more data can be crammed into each message by "twisting" the light. Now, Australian researchers have developed a device to decode those beams that's small enough to fit over the end of a fiber optic cable.
https://newatlas.com/fiber-optics-twisted-light-decoder/56949/
Robots are getting smaller and smaller, from the size of bugs down to tiny bead-shaped robots that could one day swim through the body to monitor health or deliver medication. MIT engineers recently managed to create cell-sized robots that could collect data about their environment, but were a little tricky to manufacture. Now, the team has found a way to mass produce these synthetic cells (syncells) through controlled fracturing of graphene.
https://newatlas.com/mit-syncells-cell-robots/56921/
Carried by the wind, dandelion seeds can travel enormous distances of more than a kilometer (0.6 miles). Now, researchers at The University of Edinburgh have discovered that this is thanks to a remarkable form of flight never before seen in nature.
https://newatlas.com/dandelion-flight/56868/
Levitation is often thought of as the realm of magicians or The Jetsons, but it is technically possible. That said, the tech seems to be moving pretty slowly. Now, researchers at the University of Sussex have developed SoundBender, a technology that bends sound waves around obstacles to acoustically levitate objects above them.
https://newatlas.com/soundbender-acoustic-levitation/56788/
If a device connects wirelessly to other things, chances are high that it has an antenna in it. But as crucial as these components are, the rigid metals they're made of can limit what devices they can be built into. To help with that, researchers at Drexel University have developed a new kind of antenna that can be sprayed onto just about any surface.
https://newatlas.com/drexel-spray-on-antennas/56464/
Forget steel, forget diamond and even forget everyone's favorite wonder material graphene . "nuclear pasta" may be the strongest material in the universe. This strange substance is formed in the intense pressures inside neutron stars, and researchers have now run computer simulations to test just how strong it is.
https://newatlas.com/nuclear-pasta-strongest-material-universe/56393/
Besides superfluous features like touchscreens and internal cameras, basic refrigerator technology hasn't changed much in decades. They still chill your milk by way of chemical refrigerants and compressors, and are notorious drains on your electricity bill. Now researchers in Europe have shown promising early results with an experimental cooling system that uses magnetic fields and shape-shifting memory alloys.
https://newatlas.com/magnetic-cooling-shape-shifting-alloy/56379/
A "straight out of science fiction" liquid membrane developed by a team of Penn State mechanical engineers acts as a "reverse filter" that lets large objects through while blocking small ones. The self-healing, stabilized liquid material, which mimics many of the properties of a cell membrane, acts counter-intuitively as the polar opposite of a conventional sieve.
https://newatlas.com/reverse-filter-liquid-membrane/56084/
If global warming causes catastrophic flooding that inundates most of the world's coastal urban areas by the end of the century, how will we cope? Biomimicry designer and material scientist Jun Kamei at the Royal College of Art's answer is Amphibio—a sort of lightweight 3D-printed vest made out of a polymer that acts as both an artificial gill and a breathing reservoir that will allow people to hang out in the submerged megacities.
https://newatlas.com/amphibio-artificial-gill/55802/
The classic image of a robot is rigid and metallic, but if they're ever going to work alongside humans in the real world, they're going to need a softer touch. Harvard researchers have developed a new method for producing small-scale squishy robots, and demonstrated it by creating a flexible robotic peacock spider, driven by a microfluidics system.
https://newatlas.com/microfluidic-soft-robot-spider/55780/
The fastest-spinning manmade object has been created in a lab at Purdue University. This microscopic rotor is made up of two silica nanoparticles stuck together to form a "dumbbell," and by hitting it with laser light the team has sent it spinning at a blistering 60 billion rpm.
https://newatlas.com/fastest-spinning-object/55564/
Alongside its many other amazing abilities, spider silk has been seen to carry the arachnids thousands of miles through the air, like balloons. It's long been thought that this phenomenon was simply a case of the wind picking them up, but a new study has found that the creatures are actually making use of atmospheric electric fields instead.
https://newatlas.com/spider-ballooning-electric-fields/55359/
The concept of an invisibility cloak sounds like pure science fiction, but hiding something from view is theoretically possible, and in some very-controlled cases it's experimentally possible too. Now, researchers have developed a new device that works in a completely different way to existing cloaking technology, neatly sidestepping some past issues and potentially helping to hide everyday objects under everyday conditions.
https://newatlas.com/spectral-cloaking-invisibility/55271/
Lock up your flywheels, folks, an American inventor is coming after them. Randy Moore of RK Transportation is working on an idea that replaces an engine's flywheel with a lightweight rotor with embedded magnets, to apply little pulses of electromagnetic torque just when they're needed in search of easier acceleration.
https://newatlas.com/electromagnetic-flywheel-engine/55254/
Surfaces are usually designed to have a certain topography, and you'll usually have to choose if they're sticky or slippery depending on what you need. But now, Harvard scientists have led an international team to develop a new surface that can reconfigure its shape, stickiness or slipperiness on demand, through the application of a magnetic field.
https://newatlas.com/flips-surface-changes-shape-stickiness/55216/
Have you ever said of a person, "You can see it in the way they walk"? Well, if it was their identity that you were referring to, then you were right. To that end, scientists have now created an artificial intelligence-based system that identifies people via their footsteps.
https://newatlas.com/gait-recognition-system/54782/
Researchers have developed a self-healing material that could help machines repair themselves—even after "extreme mechanical damage." Not only does the material make physical repairs, but in doing so it can restore severed electrical connections: a potentially huge benefit to machines and robots in hazardous environments. If self-repairing machines sound like something out of the Terminator films, you may be closer to the mark than you think ... the breakthrough depends upon liquid metal.
You might remember RoboBee, an insect-sized robot that flies by flapping its wings. Unfortunately, though, it has to be hard-wired to a power source. Well, one of RoboBee's creators has now helped develop RoboFly, which flies without a tether.
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Ants have an incredible capacity to work together for the good of the collective, but a freshly discovered species shows just how far they are willing to go. Colobopsis explodens has been observed in the rainforests of southeast Asia making the ultimate sacrifice, blowing their bodies apart in an attempt to stop predators in their tracks.
https://newatlas.com/exploding-ant-protect-colony/54320/
No matter how regularly you exercise, artificial muscles have long since surpassed their natural counterparts. Now, researchers from the Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois have developed an artificial muscle made of carbon fiber and rubber that can lift over 12,000 times its own weight.
https://newatlas.com/carbon-fiber-artificial-muscle/54256/
A couple of years ago, architecture and design firm Carlo Ratti Associati (CRA) showcased a system in which spray-paint-wielding drones were used to draw images on walls. It was very clever, but perhaps not something that could easily become a commercial product. The company's Scribit wall-drawing robot, however, is intended to be just that.
https://newatlas.com/scribit-wall-drawing-robot/54057/
For a number of years now, people living in arid regions have acquired drinking water by using nets to capture the microscopic airborne water droplets that make up fog. Now, researchers from Virginia Tech have improved on the concept, creating a "fog harp" that increases the collection capacity by threefold.
https://newatlas.com/fog-harp/54031/
Festo, the German electrical automation company that previously brought us a robotic dragonfly, kangaroo and penguin, is back with a couple of new creations—a spider that can roll like a wheel, and a bat that flies by autopilot.
https://newatlas.com/festo-spider-flying-fox/54001/
Researchers at Purdue University Davidson School of Chemical Engineering have developed a new polymer film that's transparent, looks and feels like glass, and conducts electricity. The material is easy to manufacture on a large scale, should be less expensive than the commonly-used, inorganic indium tin oxide, and is more conductive than other polymers.
https://newatlas.com/transparent-conductive-polymer/53983/
A video posted on YouTube on Wednesday appears to show the world record time for a robot to solve a Rubik's Cube being reduced to fine primary-colored particles. If made official, the time of 0.38 seconds, not much more than the blink of an eye, would resoundingly beat the current holder, Infineon's Sub1 Reloaded, with its time of 0.64 seconds.
https://newatlas.com/rubik-record-katz-di-carlo/53726
Ball lightning has been consistently reported for centuries, and yet we still know very little about it. Now, scientists at Amherst College and Aalto University have created quantum ball lightning by knotting together the magnetic spins of atoms, creating a quasiparticle that could help unlock the secrets of the strange phenomenon, or even make for more stable fusion reactors.
https://newatlas.com/skyrmion-quantum-ball-lightning/53701/?
In 2018 we have almost become jaded by levitating objects. You name it and there's probably a levitating iteration on the market: turntables, Bluetooth speakers, cameras, lightbulbs, clocks, and even cloud-shaped lamps. Joining that list is the LeviZen, a water-levitating device that uses acoustic levitation to suspend a droplet in mid-air and simulate the effect of zero gravity.
https://newatlas.com/levizen-water-acoustic-levitation/53655/
Energy is all around us—we just need to work out how to tap into it. Now a team from MIT has developed a device called a thermal resonator, which could essentially pull electricity out of thin air by taking advantage of gradual ambient temperature changes over the course of the day.
https://newatlas.com/mit-thermal-resonator-temperature-changes-electricity/53456/
The cuttlefish is often called the chameleon of the sea, but where the land-based version can only change its color, the sepia-squirting, tentacled one can change its skin texture as well as its tint in seconds. How it does this has been a mystery, but scientists from the Marine Biological Laboratory and the University of Cambridge have found that the cuttlefish controls its stealth ability using a giant neural circuit similar to the one that squids use to control their iridescence.
https://newatlas.com/giant-nerves-cuttlefish-stealth/53441/
Photons, the elementary particles that make up light, are known to be fast, weightless and to not interact with each other. But in new experiments, physicists at MIT and Harvard have now created a new form of light, demonstrating that groups of photons can be made to interact with each other, slow down and gain mass.
https://newatlas.com/photons-interact-new-form-light/53436/
New research from the University at Buffalo and the Chinese Academy of Sciences could one day let you leave the charger at home and top up your phone battery using body movements. The team has developed a triboelectric nanogenerator in the form of a small metallic tab that can generate electricity from simple body movements, such as the bending of a finger.
https://newatlas.com/triboelectric-nanogenerator-device-charge/53358i
Flexible batteries may not be an entirely new idea, but here's a development with more backbone than most: engineers at Columbia have developed a flexible lithium ion battery shaped much like a human spine. The battery is claimed to offer superior energy density to the flexible prototypes we've seen before.
https://newatlas.com/columbia-flexible-spine-battery/53236/
Australian research group CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) will be using aquatic drones to explore the Southern Ocean. The government agency has announced a partnership with San Francisco-based Saildrone, and will be utilizing three of the startup's unmanned vehicles for the next five years.
https://newatlas.com/saildrones-csiro/53117/
Graphene, the 2D wonder material made up of a sheet of carbon one atom thick, has a long list of superpowers, but one thing it hasn't been great at is absorbing light. Now, a study from the University of Central Florida (UCF) has found a way to boost graphene's light absorption, allowing it to make better use of that energy.
https://newatlas.com/graphene-light-absorption-boost/52963/
We could learn a lot about energy production from plants, who have been tirelessly turning water and sunlight into energy for millions of years. Recently engineers have mimicked photosynthesis with devices like artificial leaves, or harnessed it with fuel cells powered by algae. Now, a University of Cambridge team has developed a new design for the latter, which is apparently five times more efficient than existing devices, and much cheaper to make and easier to use.
https://newatlas.com/algae-fuel-cell-design-efficiency/52921/
Numbers might not sound like they need discovering, but a crowd-sourced project has now identified the largest prime number known. The number was discovered by the Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search (GIMPS), an online project of citizen scientists who spot and verify prime numbers using specialty software. It's been dubbed M77232917—and if you're wondering why it needs a codename, well, we'd be here all day typing out the 23 million digits that make it up.
https://newatlas.com/largest-prime-number-discovered/52870/
In our everyday experience, if you push something, it moves away from you. But objects with negative mass would turn that basic principle on its head and accelerate towards you instead. It sounds like science fiction but the idea is theoretically possible, and its effects have been observed in recent experiments. Now, scientists from the University of Rochester have developed a device that can create particles that exhibit negative mass.
https://newatlas.com/negative-mass-particles/52848/
Physicists from the University of Illinois have discovered a new form of matter called excitonium. This condensate, made up of excitons, was first theorized almost 50 years ago, and although evidence of this form of matter has been observed in that time it was difficult to be sure of what was happening. Now, the Illinois researchers have found a "smoking gun" that they claim is the first definitive proof that excitonium exists.
https://newatlas.com/excitonium-new-form-matter/52550/
Metallic glass is an emerging type of material, so its secrets are still being discovered. While working with the stuff, a team of Yale researchers created a brand new type of metallic glass, by shrinking samples down to the nanoscale until it forms a unique crystalline phase.
https://newatlas.com/yale-metallic-glass-material/52529/
A team at MIT has genetically modified bacteria cells and developed a new 3D printing technique to create a "living tattoo" that can respond to a variety of stimuli.Electronic tattoos and smart ink technologies are showing exciting potential for reframing how we think of wearable sensor devices. While many engineers are experimenting with a variety of responsive materials the MIT team wondered if live cells could be co-opted into a functional use.
https://newatlas.com/3d-printing-live-bacteria-cells-wearable-sensors/52485/
esearchers at MIT have developed a new membrane-based system that can convert carbon dioxide emissions into useful alternate fuels. The process has been effectively demonstrated on a small-scale and the researchers hope to ultimately adapt the system to conventional fossil fuel-based power plants.
https://newatlas.com/carbon-dioxide-fuel-conversion-mit/52367/
As if graphene wasn't versatile enough already, researchers at the University of Arkansas have now found a way for the two-dimensional material to be used as a source of clean and potentially unlimited energy. By tapping into the random fluctuations of the carbon atoms that make up graphene sheets, the scientists can generate an alternating current strong enough to indefinitely power a wristwatch.
Graphene is a lattice of carbon just one atom thick, and its incredible strength and conductivity of electricity and heat mean it might soon start cropping up in everything from light bulbs to dental fillings, microphones, motorbike helmets, water filters, smartphone screens and even heat-dissipating shoes
https://newatlas.com/graphene-motion-limitless-energy/52319/
There are plenty of gardeners that talk to their plants in the belief that it helps them grow. While plants aren't likely to be eavesdropping on our conversations anytime soon, they could be gathering different types of intelligence if a new DARPA program bears fruit. The agency is pursuing research into genetically modifying plants to turn them into self-sustaining surveillance sensors.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is essentially the US government's major technology research arm, dedicated to developing innovations that strive for transformational technological change. Just this year we've seen landmark announcements from the agency directing funding to new gene editing technologies and development into brain-computer interface devices.
https://newatlas.com/darpa-advanced-plant-technology-sensor-research/52292/
Cosmic rays are raining down over Earth all day, every day, but you'd never know it . unless of course you had the right tools. For the most part, those tools take the form of bulky, expensive lab equipment, but thanks to an MIT team, you can now build your own detector for US$100, which is small enough to take on a plane or the subway.
https://newatlas.com/portable-muon-detector/52299/
Plasma is one of the more mysterious phases of matter, only existing on Earth fleetingly in the form of lightning or contained inside neon signs. Now a team of engineers from Caltech has created a stable ring of plasma in open air, using just a high-pressure jet of water and a crystal plate. The technique could, in the long run, unlock the potential for plasma to be used for storing energy.
https://newatlas.com/plasma-ring-open-air/52174/
In a step towards creating a new class of electronics that look and feel like soft, natural organisms, mechanical engineers at Carnegie Mellon University are developing a fluidic transistor out of a metal alloy of indium and gallium that is liquid at room temperature. From biocompatible disease monitors to shape-shifting robots, the potential applications for such squishy computers are intriguing.
https://newatlas.com/liquid-metal-computer/52052/
The wonder material graphene gets many of its handy quirks from the fact that it exists in two dimensions, as a sheet of carbon only one atom thick. But to actually make use of it in practical applications, it usually needs to be converted into a 3D form. Now, researchers have developed a new and relatively simple way to do just that, using lasers to "forge" a three-dimensional pyramid out of graphene.
http://newatlas.com/laser-optically-forged-3d-graphene/51516/
iRendering things invisible sounds like it belongs in the realm of Harry Potter, but it is technically possible. Researchers from TU Wien in Austria have developed a new process that allows light waves to pass right through an opaque material by projecting a matching wave pattern onto it, actively camouflaging the target from view. The technique could one day be used as a kind of invisibility cloak, and it might work just as well on sound waves.
http://newatlas.com/invisibility-cloak-material-laser/51344/
Natural spider silk is already amazingly strong stuff, plus scientists have developed synthetic versions of the material. Now, however, Italian and British researchers have split the difference, in a manner of speaking—they've created silk that comes from spiders, but that has added man-made ingredients which give it extra strength.
http://newatlas.com/bionic-spider-silk-graphene/50908/
Australian company Euclideon has built a working prototype of what it calls the world's first true multi-user hologram table. Up to four people can walk around a holographic image and interact with it wearing only a small set of glasses . a far cry from bulky AR headgear. It's set to go on sale in 2018.
http://newatlas.com/hologram-tables-euclideon/50868/
In the Star Trek universe, Vulcans would sometimes bust out one of their most impressive abilities: the mind meld. In this maneuver, the Vulcan would form a mental bond with someone else, and the two would sync up to the point that they basically shared one consciousness. Researchers at the Basque Centre on Cognition, Brain, and Language (BCBL) in Spain have now shown that humans do something a bit similar—just by having a conversation.
http://newatlas.com/conversations-vulcan-mind-meld/50575/
Development of wearable electronics has been accelerating over the past few years. From gold-leaf smart tattoos to thin wearable circuits capable of 5G wireless communications, there have been plenty of innovative ideas, but for a wearable electronic sensor to be truly practical it would need to be comfortable when worn for extended periods of time. A team at the University of Tokyo has now developed a breathable nanoscale mesh that can be safely worn for a week without causing any skin irritation.
http://newatlas.com/electronic-nanomesh-skin-wearable-sensor/50540/
Scientists have been experimenting for some years with electroencephalography (EEG) as an interface for mind-controlled devices. Everything from wheelchairs to drones and even televisions have been controlled using EEG devices. Now a group of researchers has developed the Encephalophone, a musical instrument that can be played using the power of your mind.
http://newatlas.com/encephalophone-mind-controlled-musical-instrument/50476/
Bird Street, just off Oxford Street in London's West End, has undergone something of a transformation recently, going from an underused retail zone offshoot to the "world's first Smart Street." Designed to showcase the High Street of the future, it merges pollution-busting and sustainable technology with a traffic-free shopping and dining experience.
http://newatlas.com/bird-street-pavegen-clearair-airlite/50321/
In the past, "mind reading" systems have been able to guess what single-digit number a person might be thinking of, but deeper thoughts have been beyond the technology's reach. Now, a team from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) has developed a way to accurately read more complex concepts from a brain scan, and even piece together entire sentences.
http://newatlas.com/mind-reading-complex-thoughts/50228/
Chinese scientists have smashed the quantum entanglement distance record. Transmitting information through entangled photons had previously only been possible up to about 100 km (62 mi), but using the Micius satellite launched in August, information has effectively been teleported as far as 1,200 km (746 mi).
http://newatlas.com/quantum-entanglement-satellite-distance-record/50071/
At some point in the evolution of VR and AR, controllers will fade away and the headsets themselves will have sensors that track our bare hands in what's essentially real time. One firm already has an SDK—launching today—that allows developers to bake hand tracking directly into their apps, using the camera that's already on your smartphone, tablet or laptop.
http://newatlas.com/manomotion-hand-tracking-sdk-smartphones/49811/
For the first time, scientists at the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO) have managed to create a digital imaging sensor that can capture ultraviolet, infrared and visible light at the same time. What wonder materials are behind this breakthrough? No prizes for guessing it's two of the usual suspects: graphene and quantum dots.
http://newatlas.com/graphene-quantum-dot-camera-visible-infrared-uv/49764/
We're not going to lie, an extra pair of hands would be pretty useful sometimes (dare we say, handy). Imagine you're typing out an email while a third hand is bringing a coffee cup up to your lips, or reading a book while chowing down on some potato chips and petting the dog. A team of Japanese engineers has come up with a solution dubbed MetaLimbs—a set of robotic arms that are controlled with your feet and knees.
http://newatlas.com/metalimbs-robot-arms/49769/
While the most powerful robots are still learning to walk, millions of years of evolution has made animals masters of tricky terrain. To take advantage of this scientists are exploring ways to augment living animals with robotic systems, and now a team from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) has used a "parasitic robot" to control the movements of a live turtle by feeding it treats.
http://newatlas.com/parasitic-robot-cyborg-turtle/49729/
Back in 2015, we heard about how bioplastics firm Algix and clean tech company Effekt were collaborating to make eco-friendly foam based on algae instead of petroleum. The material is now being marketed as Bloom foam—by the newly-formed Bloom company—and you'll soon be able to buy shoes made out of the stuff.
http://newatlas.com/vivobarefoot-bloom-algae-shoes/49668/
o you made your way to this article, but how did you do it? Did your motor cortex fire up the muscle fibers in your fingers to click on a particular area of the screen, prompting the CPU inside your device to load up this page? One day that could all seem decidedly archaic. That's because some smart people are investing big time and money into computers that can read your thoughts as they are conceived. The goal is to have machines that know what you want and will give you the information you need before you could literally lift a finger. But how far off might such a future be? Let's take a look at the current state of these brain-computer interfaces, and the challenges that remain in getting them inside our heads.
http://newatlas.com/mind-reading-machines-musk-future/48642/
True holograms—3D images captured like photographs—are still a long way from replicating the flashy stage tricks that masquerade under the title. Although most holograms are still pretty tiny, a team from Australia's RMIT and the Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT) have created the world's thinnest holographic display, encoding a 3D image onto a material just 25 nanometers thick.
http://newatlas.com/worlds-thinnest-hologram/49591/
If you've ever sat down to a dish of Jell-O and wished that it was a touchscreen control , Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) has got your back. A team of scientists at the CMU's Future Interfaces Group is working on a new technology called Electrick that uses a can of spray paint to turn almost any surface—including walls, toys, tools, furniture, steering wheels, and the popular gelatin dessert—into an interactive control.
http://newatlas.com/pray-on-touch-control/49421/
From bacteria to butterflies, creatures have long relied upon the Earth's magnetic field to orient themselves and navigate the planet. Eels are another animal that possess this fascinating ability known as magnetoreception, but researchers have recently discovered that the sea slitherers use the talent in a unique way that lets them travel far with minimal energy.
http://newatlas.com/eels-navigate-magnetism/49014/
Growing meat in labs might be one solution to the ethical and environmental issues of farming animals for food, but although plenty of research is focused on the practical details of how to pull that off, public attitudes to eating cultured meat have been largely overlooked. A new study has tried to shed some light on key questions, like whether the average person would eat cow-less beef, how vegetarians and vegans feel about it, and even if people would eat lab-grown horse, dog or cat meat.
http://newatlas.com/lab-grown-meat-public-attitudes/48921/
Earlier this month, we witnessed the first "civilian" flight of a real-life jetpack made by Jetpack Aviation. During our time at the test site in California, we also made a point of pulling aside company founder and CEO David Mayman to ask him where he sees this whole jetpack thing going, and his vision is much broader than you might expect. Mayman doesn't just see a future for jetpacks, he sees the future centered around jetpacks and other VTOL technology he's working on today.
http://newatlas.com/jetpack-aviation-david-mayman-future-autonomous-drone/48632/
Cyborg insects have been scuttling and buzzing around for years, but now, researchers from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have scaled the idea up to a turtle. With their concept system, a human driver could use a brain-computer interface (BCI) to send instructions to direct the movement of the turtle just by thinking about it.
BCI systems have been used to control wheelchairs, drones, prosthetic limbs, and even cars, but this seems to be the first time the technology has been applied to a live animal. If you were going to choose one creature to control with your mind, the maddeningly-slow plod of a turtle might not be at the top of your list, but the researchers picked this particular animal because of its relative smarts and the fact that its natural navigation system can be "hacked" fairly easily.
http://newatlas.com/cyborg-turtle-brain-computer-interface/48604/
Thanks to gravity, fluids flow downwards following the path of least resistance. To better control where they go, humans have spent thousands of years developing pipes and pumps, but now researchers at Brandeis University have mixed biological molecules into a substance that marks the first steps towards developing a self-propelling liquid that could flow free of human or gravitational influence.
http://newatlas.com/self-propelling-liquid/48628/
Zoltan Istvan is a transhumanist, journalist, politician, writer and libertarian. He is also running for Governor of California for the Libertarian Party on a platform pushing science and technology to the forefront of political discourse. In recent years, the movement of transhumanism has moved from a niche collection of philosophical ideals and anarcho-punk gestures into a mainstream political movement. Istvan has become the popular face of this movement after running for president in 2016 on a dedicated transhumanist platform.
http://newatlas.com/zoltan-istvan-interview-transhumanism-politics/48041/
In a compelling webseries from 2012 entitled H+, we were introduced to a future world where much of the population has a hi-tech implant, allowing individuals a direct neural interface with the internet. As often is the case in science fiction, things don't turn out well for those technological pioneers. A virus infects the implant and chaos quickly descends on a human race that has become biologically fused with technology.
http://newatlas.com/transhumanism-mainstream-era-popular/47941/
Localized dimming is a feature found in many televisions these days, but what about a display capable of producing localized smells? That's exactly what a team from the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology in Japan has created. The "smelling screen" that was recently presented at the IEEE Virtual Reality 2013 conference in Orlando, Florida can produce odors that appear to emanate from specific areas of the screen.
http://www.gizmag.com/smell-screen-localized-virtual-odor/26884/
Last year, a team of researchers from the Virginia Tech College of Engineering unveiled RoboJelly—a robotic jellyfish in development since 2009, that's about the size of a man's hand. While the squishy little robot is certainly an impressive feat of engineering, the same team has now created a bigger, better jellybot, known as Cyro.
http://www.gizmag.com/cyro-robotic-jellyfish/26853/
Last year, researchers at the University of Dundee revealed an acoustic tractor beam that used ultrasonic energy to pull macroscopic objects in. Now researchers in the UK have developed a sonic tractor beam that generates acoustic holograms through the manipulation of high-amplitude sound waves. These acoustic holograms, which can take various shapes, such as fingers, cages and vortexes, are able to pick up and move small objects like polystyrene beads.
http://www.gizmag.com/sonic-tractor-beam/40100/
Frog tongues are sticky like glue and that's all there is to it, right? Actually no, it turns out that things aren't quite that simple. Led by mechanical engineering Ph.D. student Alexis Noel, researchers at Georgia Tech have discovered that frog saliva switches between watery and viscous states, allowing the animals to both catch prey and then whip it back into their mouths. The findings could have implications for human technology.
http://newatlas.com/frog-tongue-reversible-saliva/47695/
With the ability to hover and zip along at high speeds, the dragonfly has inspired robots and micro UAVs in the past—but why reinvent the wheel when nature has already done the hard work? Now, researchers from the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) have developed a system that a living dragonfly can wear like a backpack, allowing engineers to steer it remotely to deliver payloads, conduct reconnaissance and even guide pollination.
http://newatlas.com/cyborg-dragonfly-optrode/47625/
The phrase "sharing a drink with friends" could soon have a whole new meaning thanks to researchers from the National University of Singapore (NSU). A team there has developed a way to capture and digitally transmit the flavor of a drink that is reproduced using electrodes to trick your tongue into tasting the sourness of lemonade when all you're really drinking is boring old water.
It's a sad fact of life that the tastiest foods and drinks are the ones that are bad for us, but clever workarounds can let us enjoy the taste of something without actually consuming it. The Edible Mist Machine puffs out inhalable clouds in over 200 flavors, from chocolate to bacon, and previous NSU research found that electrically stimulating the tongue in different ways can mimic the basic taste types of sweet, sour, salty and bitter.
http://newatlas.com/virtual-lemonade-teleports-taste/48654/
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