Engineering

Geometric Shapes Inspire New, Stretchy Materials

Intricate designs drawn from Islamic art could help make materials that stretch in new ways

Mini-organs grow around the tiny scaffolds (lower left). The magnified image (right) shows the hair-thin channels that serve as blood vessels.

How a Tiny, "Beating" Human Heart Was Created in a Lab

The device, filled with human heart cells, could dramatically reduce the time it takes to test new drugs and end testing on animals

This Solar Cell Can Float on a Bubble

MIT scientists have created the world's lightest solar cell, thin enough to be used on paper or clothing

Watch What These Soft Robots Can Do

Scientists are making bendy robots that can squeeze into small spaces and grip objects of any shape

Brainstorming new helmet innovation.

Can This New Football Helmet Prevent Head Injuries?

The team behind the Zero1, a new four-layer helmet design, hopes so

White rhinos graze in Nakuru National Park, Kenya.

Five Ways to Fight Wildlife Crime in the Digital Age

From GPS-tagged eggs to smartphone apps, these emerging technologies could help give endangered species a chance at survival

The transporter in this artwork is called the Clarke Clipper, after the British science-fiction author Arthur C. Clarke, who wrote about space elevators in his novel The Fountains of Paradise.

People Are Still Trying to Build a Space Elevator

Though key players have distanced themselves from the concept, a new film examines the continuing draw behind the sci-fi staple

This Powerful Metal Glue Sets at Room Temperature

MesoGlue uses nanorod technology to fuse items together without heat, potentially replacing soldering

Adam Steltzner celebrates the successful landing of the Curiosity rover on Mars on August 5, 2012.

What Landing a Rover on Mars Teaches You About Leadership and Teamwork

In his new book, NASA engineer Adam Steltzner shares his insights on how to inspire people to make the impossible possible

Metal microlattice

This Metal Is 99.9 Percent Air

A new metal "microlattice" is strong yet incredibly light, lending itself to a wide variety of aerospace, automotive and medical uses

The mockup of a Heat Harvest-enabled table

One Day, Your Cup of Coffee Could Charge Your Phone

A pair of students has proposed the idea of embedding furniture with pads to absorb latent heat and convert it into electricity

Programming organisms in the Ginkgo Bioworks Foundry

A Boston Biotech Company Is Engineering New Smells

A team at Ginkgo Bioworks is designing organisms that emit specific scents and flavors

A woman uses the Qylatron at Levi's Stadium.

Is This Machine the Future of Airport Security?

The Qylatron, used daily at San Francisco's Levi's Stadium, promises better, faster security screening

Med School Students Can Play "Operation" With These Synthetic Cadavers

Florida company SynDaver is making life-like organs and bodies. But, as teaching models, are they as helpful as the real thing?

The latest Li-Fi prototype

What Is Li-Fi, and Will It Replace Wi-Fi?

Mobile communications professor Harald Haas has theorized about using LED bulbs to transmit data for years. Now, the technology is a reality.

RoboBees Can Fly and Swim. What's Next? Laser Vision

Swarms of robotic bees, capable of seeing, may soon be able to monitor pollution and traffic, or scan the struts of bridges

Four engineering students from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada invented a printer that produces circuit boards in minutes.

This Year's James Dyson Award Goes to a Circuit Board Printer

Four engineering students in Canada win the prestigious international award with their invention, which they hope will speed up electronics manufacturing

This Extremely Slow Rube Goldberg Device Lasts More Than Six Weeks

The whimsical invention uses molasses, a tortoise, and sprouting grass to move a golf ball

HyperCam

This Camera Sees What Your Eyes Can't

HyperCam, an affordable hyperspectral imaging camera, can tell if your food's gone bad, among other things

The algorithm could be useful for pilots flying in turbulence.

This "Psychic Robot" Can Read Your Mind

Researchers have created an algorithm that understands what movement you meant to make, even if you're interrupted

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