Engineering Design

  1. Environment

    ‘Zombie’ wildfires can reemerge after wintering underground

    Climate change may make these not-quite-dead blazes more common. Scientists are learning to predict where a zombie might emerge.

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  2. Physics

    Nuclear clocks are nearly here

    More precise clocks could improve technologies such as GPS and help scientists test major ideas in science.

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  3. Chemistry

    Father-son bond inspires sweets that model the shapes of molecules

    These bite-sized gummy candies could spark interest in the world of chemistry, especially among students who can’t see.

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  4. Health & Medicine

    Will we all need COVID-19 booster shots?

    Experts say not yet, but booster vaccines may be coming as new SARS-CoV-2 virus variants keep emerging.

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  5. Tech

    Sleep-friendlier lighting is on the way

    Chemists have created a new glowing material for LEDs. It should lessen how much near-bedtime lighting impairs your ability to nod off.

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  6. Tech

    Mantis shrimp inspires somersaults of new soft robot

    Its rolling acrobatics allow this robot to move especially swiftly — much as a fictional new Disney character can.

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  7. Materials Science

    ‘Smart’ pasta morphs into fun shapes as it cooks

    The trick to this shape-shifting are grooves cut into the raw pasta. Those grooves affect how the noodles swell as they cook.

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  8. Environment

    Pond scum can release a paralyzing pollutant into the air

    New study finds blooms of blue-green algae can seed the air with a poisonous pollutant.

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  9. Animals

    A common antibiotic might save some sick corals

    The antibiotic amoxicillin stopped tissue death in corals for at least 11 months after treatment.

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  10. Climate

    Climate may have sent drift of the North Pole toward Greenland

    This mid-1990s shift in the pole’s movement was driven by glacial melt. And that was triggered in part by climate change, a new study reports.

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  11. Animals

    The secret to T. rex‘s incredible biting force is at last revealed

    The force of a T. rex bite was roughly 6 metric tons. A new study points to what’s behind that mighty force.

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  12. Earth

    Only 3 percent of Earth’s land is unchanged by people

    A sweeping survey of land-based ecosystems finds that very few still support all the animals they used to. Reintroducing lost species could help.

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