This swarm of underwater robots mimics plankton By Duncan Geere published 25 January 17 Oceanographers have built a swarm of robots that can imitate the tiny but vitally important ocean creatures
Scientists can now 3D-print human skin By Duncan Geere published 24 January 17 Biologists at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid have built a prototype of a 3D bioprinter that can create functional human skin.
Latvian snowboarders have taken up "droneboarding" By Duncan Geere published 23 January 17 A Latvian company called Aerones is building drones that can drag snowboarders behind them across frozen lakes.
100 days after a zombie infection, only 273 humans would remain alive By Duncan Geere published 6 January 17 Researchers studying the dynamics of a hypothetical zombie outbreak have determined that it'd only take about 100 days to wipe out humanity.
A TV-sized panel on your wall could wirelessly charge all your gadgets By Duncan Geere published 5 January 17 Engineers have found that the technology to create such a system already exists - it just needs to be designed
Your next smartphone will get a bug's-eye view of the world By Duncan Geere published 4 January 17 Engineers have developed a new kind of smartphone camera that mimics the way insects see.
Norway wants to fill the International Space Station with snakebots By Duncan Geere published 21 December 16 Norwegian engineers are building snake-shaped robots that they hope could carry out maintenance on the ISS, study comets, and explore the Moon
Deer antlers are inspiring tougher materials By Duncan Geere published 20 December 16 Materials scientists are studying the remarkable toughness of deer antlers in a bid to create stronger, more resilient substances
The world's smallest radio receiver has parts that are two atoms in size By Duncan Geere published 19 December 16 A team of Harvard engineers has built the world's smallest radio receiver out of atom-scale defects in pink diamond.
Drones could guide self-driving cars when they need to go off-road By Duncan Geere published 16 December 16 Engineers at Ford are studying a system that would see autonomous drones guiding self-driving cars when they need to go off-road.
How to build a Death Star By Duncan Geere published 14 December 16 Updated Making science fiction into super weapon with some help from the experts.
This parkour robot is really, really good at jumping By Duncan Geere published 7 December 16 Berkeley roboticists have developed a tiny robot, inspired by nature, that's capable of wall jumps
Algorithm reads millions of posts on parenting sites in bid to understand online misinformation By Duncan Geere published 6 December 16 Researchers at UCLA have designed a computer that can read posts on parenting websites in an attempt to figure out how false narratives spread online
Virgin Galactic's 'Unity' spacecraft just completed its first glide flight By Duncan Geere published 5 December 16 Virgin Galactic is celebrating the completion of the first unpowered solo voyage of its new spacecraft
This 3D-printed dog nose can detect explosives By Duncan Geere published 2 December 16 Apparently, sticking a 3D-printed dog nose on the end of an explosives detector makes it substantially better
This drone was 3D printed with the electronics already inside By Duncan Geere published 1 December 16 Engineers at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University have figured out how to 3D-print a drone with the electronics it needs to fly already inside.
Nasa has found a way to make robots more graceful: 'metallic glass' By Duncan Geere published 30 November 16 Gears made out of metallic glass will allow robotic limbs to turn smoothly on other worlds.
It takes just a quarter of a second to figure out if someone is an android By Duncan Geere published 29 November 16 The human brain takes less than a second to tell the difference between reality and fantasy, according to psychologists.
Scientists finally find a good use for nuclear waste: making batteries By Duncan Geere published 28 November 16 Diamonds and nuclear waste combine to make batteries.
The muscles of our robot overlords will be made of nylon By Duncan Geere published 25 November 16 MIT researchers have come up with a simple, low-cost ingredient for building muscle fibres for robots - nylon.
The US government wants to lock out apps to stop phone use while driving By Duncan Geere published 24 November 16 The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has asked smartphone manufacturers to try to figure out a way to stop distractions.
Using augmented reality glasses slows down your reaction times By Duncan Geere published 23 November 16 Psychologists from the University of Central Florida have tested response times for people using Google Glass and similar headsets, and the results are concerning.
Are you ready to eat tiny plants from the sea? By Duncan Geere published 22 November 16 Earth scientists have identified a huge new potential source of food and fuel for the world - microalgae.
This photo bot will make you smile - whether you like it or not By Duncan Geere published 21 November 16 A design researcher has developed a bot that crawls the internet looking for pictures of people. If it doesn't find a smile, it adds one.
Can virtual reality challenge real-life prejudices? By Duncan Geere published 20 November 16 Longform Building the 'ultimate empathy machine', and the VR experiences to go with it.