Tech
- Computing
3-D printers are making cars!
3-D printing technology makes it possible to print anything — even a car. A team of engineers designed the Strati and then printed the electric cars at events in Chicago and New York.
- Tech
Explainer: What is 3-D printing?
A new type of computer printer is already doing a lot more than spraying ink onto paper. Some dispense metal, plastic, food — even cells. In short order, people may be able to manufacture almost anything from their home or office.
- Archaeology
Pyramids’ blocks: Possibly rock ‘n’ rolled
No one knows how the ancient Egyptians moved the big stones needed to build their pyramids. A new study suggests they could have rolled them, by attaching wooden posts to the sides.
- Tech
Soaking up oil spills — with cotton
Natural, low-grade cotton could help clean up oil spills better than synthetic materials, a new study finds. And unlike synthetics, cotton breaks down naturally.
- Tech
Plants ‘listen’ for danger
Scientists used lasers to show that plants can “hear” insect pests. Those leafy plants then mount a chemical attack in response to the bug’s chewing sounds — but not toward harmless noises such as a gentle breeze or a bug’s mating call.
- Tech
Invisible plastic ‘ink’ foils counterfeiters
Hidden images make a new label virtually counterfeit-proof, thanks to a combination of chemistry and nanotechnology.
- Tech
Fashioning inks to ‘print’ tissues
3-D printing may one day create life-saving tissues and organs for transplants. But first researchers are learning how to tailor cell-filled “inks” for use in inkjet printers.
- Tech
Biometrics: New IDs that are uniquely you
Fingerprints are so last century. Computers soon may start identifying people by their eyebrows, heartbeats or even networks of blood vessels under the skin.
- Tech
A homemade bungee cord could save kids in hot cars
Babies left in hot cars are in serious danger. A middle-school student invented a simple reminder to help parents keep their children safe.
- Space
What to wear on Mars
NASA released details of the new, more flexible apparel being designed for long-distance travelers — such as those bound for another planet.
- Tech
Digital displays get flexible
Flexible and unbreakable digital displays could soon be for sale, thanks to a new organic transistor made from plastic.
- Tech
New plane wheels land teen at big research competition
Landing a plane in high winds can be a risky business. Intel ISEF finalist Emerson Burkard designed a new swiveling plane wheel to make the process safer.
