Collaborate Disseminate
Back in 2015 we looked at an interesting approach to automated construction in the form of a brick-laying robot, capable of putting together full-sized homes in just two days. The engineers behind the Hadrian X have continued making software improvemen… Continue reading Hadrian X brick-laying robot ups the ante to 200 blocks an hour
How the human species contends with an alarming rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a pressing issue, with some experts predicting these superbugs could kill millions a year by 2050 if we don’t develop new weapons to neutralize the threat. A team … Continue reading Princeton’s “poisoned arrow” molecule shreds superbugs from the inside
From robots that flip burgers in California to ones that serve up bratwursts in Berlin, we are starting to see how machines can play sous-chef in kitchens around the world. But scientists at the University of Cambridge have been exploring how these cul… Continue reading Robot chef uses machine learning to perfect its omelette-making skills
One of the proposed ways to counter the effects of global warming is by using atmospheric aerosols to reflect heat away from the Earth, and a great deal of research is going into not just how this might work, but whether or not it is a good idea. A new… Continue reading MIT study explores how solar geoengineering would alter the climate
One of the many ways scientists hope to improve our odds against cancer is through the use of viruses that selectively infect and kill tumor cells. Known as oncolytic virus therapy, the technique has shown both great promise and also some real limitati… Continue reading How tumor cells use inflammation to hide from cancer-killing viruses
Back in 2015, a team of scientists led by Stanford University biologist Paul Ehrlich published a study claiming we were entering a sixth mass extinction event, triggered by the rapid decline in biodiversity. Researchers have now provided an update in t… Continue reading Study finds sixth mass extinction accelerating at unprecedented rate
Tennessee’s Fred Pearson has taken to the outdoor gear market with an interesting take on the trusty survival axe. The designer’s Kukrax aims to combine the best bits of a modern-day tactical tomahawk with the curvy nature of a kukri machete, offering … Continue reading Kukrax survival axe takes a tactical tomahawk and makes it curvy
Insulin has proven an invaluable, life-saving hormone since the first diabetes sufferers were injected with it in the 1920s, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement. Scientists at the University of Utah have been coming at this from an i… Continue reading Fast-acting hybrid insulin borrows tricks from sea snail venom
Batteries that use a sodium-ion chemistry rather than the commonplace lithium-ion could offer a number of advantages, owing to the cheap and abundant nature of the element. Scientists at Washington State University have come up with a design billed as … Continue reading Extra salty sodium battery performs on par with lithium
Batteries that use a sodium-ion chemistry rather than the commonplace lithium-ion could offer a number of advantages, owing to the cheap and abundant nature of the element. Scientists at Washington State University have come up with a design billed as … Continue reading Extra salty sodium battery performs on par with lithium