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- Tech
These robots quickly swap ‘origami’ jackets — and tasks
Quick-change origami wardrobes help robots change their shape — and skills.
- Archaeology
Fiery tests suggest gooey tech by Neandertals
Neandertals could have used simple methods and handy materials to make tar. It would have helped them glue their tools together.
By Bruce Bower - Materials Science
U.S. Army is developing high-tech underwear
A new fabric could warm the skin of active soldiers in cold climates. At the same time, it could soak away sweat that might otherwise cause chills.
- Tech
Is weather control a dream or nightmare?
Weather control is largely fiction for now, although people are unintentionally changing their weather. And that might not be a good thing.
- Tech
Social networks can learn about you through your friends
Social networks can gather information from users that let them create “shadow profiles” of others — even people not on the network.
- Tech
Scientists Say: Radar
This is a system used to detect objects large and small. It works by sending out radio waves and waiting for them to bounce back.
- Chemistry
Super-chilled imaging technique brings its developers the Nobel Prize in chemistry
Three men who helped develop a super-high-resolution imaging technique for proteins, viruses and more received the 2017 Nobel Prize in chemistry.
By Carolyn Gramling and Laurel Hamers - Computing
Video games level up life skills
A new study shows that playing video games can sharpen important life skills, including communication, adaptability and resourcefulness.
- Tech
Spying on brains in action
New tools let scientists see inside the brain and nervous system as their research subjects move around.
- Physics
The quantum world is mind-bogglingly weird
At the smallest scales, particles are ghostly and ill-behaved. No one understands them, but that doesn’t keep scientists from trying.
- Animals
Three simple rules guide fire ants in building towers
Fire ants build towers of ants to protect themselves during a flood. New research reveals the simple rules that guide how they do this, no foreman needed.
- Tech
Meet the world’s smallest monster trucks
These DNA-scale nano-vehicles surprised chemists. The bonds that hold their atomic building blocks in place grip the wheels more strongly than anyone had expected.