Tag: #147

New Zealand is betting on autonomous gondolas for local transport. Meanwhile a US research team has developed a flexible robot to carry objects through the air along tracks. The robot is a rope made from liquid crystal elastomers, twisted in on itself like a corkscrew and joined at both ends. If treated with infrared light, the area exposed contracts,...

Smart home devices needn’t reveal users’ data. A ring could perform a similar function in public. Navigation and weather apps (along with many others) store users’ location data. Now, a university team from Munich has developed a new method to prevent such data being used to infer private information. The basis for the method is a digital grid system...

Algae can be used as cement, and help injuries to heal. Coral reefs, too, could use a little support. Enter a San Diego research team and its enticing new gel, comprising chemicals from crusty, calcareous algae. Their high levels of calcium carbonate attract coral larvae, which are essential for the growth and maintenance of reefs. Encased in nanoparticles made...

A mini-pacemaker could ensure affected babies have a smooth start in life. In critical situations, endotracheal (ET) tubes are important for people of all ages. Now a female-led startup in Boston has developed a patented support which prevents tubes from slipping or causing injuries. Based on an invention by army therapists, the frame is secured in the mouth through...

Laser light can cool down high performance processors. It can also make things hot for viruses and bacteria… A US startup’s new photonic chip, measuring the size of a 1 cent coin, can render pathogens inactive with the help of far-UVC light. By using the so-called ‘Second Harmonics’ effect. When blue laser light with a 445 nm wavelength is...

Cow dung has a lot to offer. Finnish research on the impact of penguins on the climate is no sailor’s yarn either. The flightless birds’ excrement secretes ammonia into the atmosphere, a fact confirmed by studies undertaken on a colony of 60,000 in the Antarctic. The concentration of ammonia was 1,000 times higher than it was without the birds....