All Stories by Katie Grace Carpenter
- Tech
A new solar-powered gel purifies water in a flash
The unusual, fruit-inspired structure of this material provides quick filtration that could satisfy people's daily water needs.
- Space
Scientists Say: Accretion Disk
Cosmic swirls of gas, dust and plasma, accretion disks reveal the shadowy silhouettes of black holes and more.
- Environment
Sea life may suffer as plastic bits alter metals in water
This interplay between plastics and metals could affect how each affects the environment — and suggests opportunities for controlling their risks.
- Environment
Microplastic pollution aids viruses and prolongs their infectivity
The tiny plastic bits give these germs safe havens. That protection seems to increase as the plastic ages and breaks into ever smaller pieces.
- Chemistry
Explainer: What is a hydrogel?
These unusual materials have a host of unusual properties. You can even make a starch-infused version in your kitchen.
- Animals
Sea creatures’ fishy scent protects them from deep-sea high pressures
TMAO’s water-wrangling ability protects a critter’s critical proteins — including muscle — from crushing under deep ocean pressures.
- Tech
No trees were harmed to 3-D print this piece of wood
How clever! Scientists used print-speed adjustments to control how flat, 3-D printed shapes morph into complex wooden objects.
- Plants
No sun? No prob! A new process might soon grow plants in the dark
Teamwork makes green-work! Collaborating scientists came up with an electrifying farming trick that could make sunlight optional.
- Health & Medicine
Patches and robotic pills may one day replace injections
Instead of a shot in the arm, a light-activated patch or robotic pill may one day deliver your medicine.
- Health & Medicine
Like bloodhounds, worms are sniffing out human cancers
Scents emitted by diseased cells may usher in a new era of safe, low-cost screening tests for cancer and other illnesses.
- Materials Science
New cloth cools you when you’re hot, warms you when you’re cold
Scientists 3-D printed the new fabric, which has even more tricks up its sleeve — such as conducting electricity and resisting radio waves.
- Environment
Widely used pesticides may threaten Earth’s ozone layer
Data show a major class of long-used “eco-friendly” copper chemicals unexpectedly react with soil, making gases harmful to Earth’s protective ozone layer.
