Engineering Design

  1. Planets

    The pebbled path to planets

    Small pebbles zipping through a sea of gas may give rise to mighty planets.

    By
  2. Agriculture

    New technologies might help keep drought-prone farms green

    After learning how much damage drought can do to crops, two teens designed ways to detect a thirsty plant and make sure it gets enough water.

    By
  3. Environment

    Local glacier could be gone in a decade, young scientist finds

    A teen calculated the volume of a glacier by drilling into it with jets of steam — then used that to estimate how long before all its ice will be gone.

    By
  4. Planets

    The Perseverance rover split CO2 on Mars to make breathable air

    This oxygen-making experiment shows that astronauts could one day make air to breathe and to help fuel their ride back home.

    By
  5. Computing

    Will this smartphone app become your exercise coach?

    When one teen couldn’t go to the gym, she invented an app to bring her gymnastics coach to her home. She succeeded and won a major award for it.

    By
  6. Tech

    No animal died to make this steak

    The ribeye steak is the first of its kind, and the latest in a growing list of meats printed with a 3-D bioprinter instead of being harvested from an animal.

    By
  7. Tech

    New robots can clean virus-laden surfaces so people won’t have to

    Smart and nimble cleaning robots will soon help disinfect spaces. They twist and bend to hit hard-to-reach spaces with UV light or cleansing sprays.

    By
  8. Ecosystems

    Analyze This: Invasive species cost the world billions each year

    A new study estimates that invasive species have cost the world more than $1 trillion since 1970. That’s almost certainly an underestimate.

    By
  9. Materials Science

    New device gets power from 5G signals grabbed from the air

    A new way to harvest electricity relies on a tiny array of antennas and a lens. Together, they collect and focus 5G signals coming from any direction.

    By
  10. Physics

    Why big nuts always rise to the top

    X-rays scans of a box of mixed nuts now reveal why large Brazil nuts rise to the top.

    By
  11. Materials Science

    Copper ‘foam’ could be used as filters for COVID-19 masks

    The lightweight new material could serve as a washable and recyclable, eco-friendly alternative for many current mask filters.

    By
  12. Physics

    Staying grounded in space requires artificial gravity

    On TV, people in space walk around like they’re on Earth. How can science give real astronauts artificial gravity? Spin right round, baby.

    By