James Webb Space Telescope snaps first images – a star and a selfie

The James Webb Space Telescope has taken its first images of space. What looks like a smeared starfield is actually the same star snapped 18 times, as the mirror segments try to align themselves to focus on the star. The craft also took a selfie of its… Continue reading James Webb Space Telescope snaps first images – a star and a selfie→

Electronic textile makes for touchscreen curtains or clothes

Textiles have been getting smarter for years, but they’re usually fairly limited in size and scope. Now a team of scientists led by Cambridge has woven together a 46-inch textile display, loaded with LEDs, sensors and energy storage, which can be made … Continue reading Electronic textile makes for touchscreen curtains or clothes→

Electronic textile makes for touchscreen curtains or clothes

Textiles have been getting smarter for years, but they’re usually fairly limited in size and scope. Now a team of scientists led by Cambridge has woven together a 46-inch textile display, loaded with LEDs, sensors and energy storage, which can be made … Continue reading Electronic textile makes for touchscreen curtains or clothes→

Biohybrid fish powered by beating human heart cells swims for 100 days

Researchers at Harvard and Emory University have created a biohybrid fish out of human heart muscle cells that can swim autonomously for months at a time as the cells beat. The project is a quirky sidestep on the way to eventually growing new functioni… Continue reading Biohybrid fish powered by beating human heart cells swims for 100 days→

Earth’s inner core is a strange superionic iron alloy, study suggests

Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences have found that Earth’s inner core may be stranger than we thought. Rather than a plain solid, new simulations suggest it exists as a superionic state of matter, partway between a liquid and a solid.Cont… Continue reading Earth’s inner core is a strange superionic iron alloy, study suggests→

Mighty morphing melting metal robot switches from driving to flying drone

Most robots are designed for a specific job, and aren’t very adaptable. But engineers at Virginia Tech have now developed a soft robot that can morph into a range of shapes, such as driving, flying or swimming robots, thanks to a rubber skin full of a … Continue reading Mighty morphing melting metal robot switches from driving to flying drone→

Nature-inspired nanotextures pop superbugs, help ships cut through water

Researchers at Imperial College London have developed a simple new way to make materials with intricate nanoscale textures on their surfaces, all inspired by nature. Different patterns can have a range of applications, like making antimicrobial surface… Continue reading Nature-inspired nanotextures pop superbugs, help ships cut through water→

Prostate cancer antibody treatment shows promise in dogs

Researchers in Japan have demonstrated a new antibody treatment for prostate cancer. The drug helps reverse a nasty trick that cancer cells play on the immune system, with promising results shown in experiments in dogs with the cancer.Continue ReadingC… Continue reading Prostate cancer antibody treatment shows promise in dogs→

Quasiparticles used to generate millions of truly random numbers a second

Random numbers are crucial for computing, but our current algorithms aren’t truly random. Researchers at Brown University have now found a way to tap into the fluctuations of quasiparticles to generate millions of truly random numbers per second.Contin… Continue reading Quasiparticles used to generate millions of truly random numbers a second→

Tuneable smart window coating traps heat in winter, reflects it in summer

Windows may be important for letting natural light and warmth into a room, but sometimes they let in too much, or let your artificial warmth out instead. Researchers at Oxford have developed a new smart window coating that can be tuned on the fly to em… Continue reading Tuneable smart window coating traps heat in winter, reflects it in summer→