Engineering Design
- Animals
These young inventors had to make like a crab
This year’s top challenge for Broadcom MASTERS finalists was to design and build a robotic arm based on a crab’s arm and claw.
- Fossils
Speckled dino spurs debate about ancient animals’ colors
Structures found in fossil dinosaur skin may give clues to the creatures’ colors and how they lived. But not all scientists agree on how to interpret what they see.
- Health & Medicine
Milking chocolate for its health benefits
Researchers figure out how to give milk chocolate the same health benefits as dark chocolate. The secret ingredient is an extract from peanut skin.
- Climate
Predicting a wildfire with data from space
When the West gets dry it can catch fire. A teen decided to find out if satellite data might show where a fire’s fuel might reside.
- Health & Medicine
Could toothpaste give heart disease the brush-off?
Brushing with a toothpaste that dyes plaque green encourages people to remove more of it. This also lowered inflammation, which may cut someone’s risk of heart disease.
- Agriculture
Teen develops water-saving pods for seeds
In California’s drought, every drop of water counts. A teen developed a capsule to keep sprouting seeds wet and reduce water use.
- Tech
Hack: How to spy on a 3-D printer
Computer scientists have found that a hacker can eavesdrop on a 3-D printer using a smartphone. The technique uses sound and energy data produced by the printer.
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Teen prints a device to help keep wounds dry
A Broadcom MASTERS finalist invented a sensor that goes off when a wound is too wet. This would alert a patient it’s time to change their bandage.
- Environment
Arctic Sea could be ice-free by 2050
Everyone contributes to the melting of Arctic sea ice, and all are in danger of making summer ice disappear there completely by 2050, a new study finds.
- Environment
Vaping may put your smile at risk
As e-cigarette use among teens rises, scientists find that vaping may cause cellular damage to the mouth, gums and teeth. Even the cells’ DNA was affected.
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Teen studies better cleaning through chemistry
Why do we use hot water and soap to get things clean? To find out, a teen invented a way to measure surface tension.
- Animals
Spidey sense: They can hear you!
Surprise! At least some spiders can hear us. Even without eardrums, jumping spiders can still detect airborne sounds from across the room.
