Emily Matchar

Emily Matchar

 

Emily Matchar is a writer from North Carolina. She's contributed to many publications, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Atlantic and many others. She's the author of the novel In the Shadow of the Greenbrier. 

Irregular heart rhythms

Turning Irregular Heartbeats Into Music

A set of piano pieces could help doctors better understand heart rhythm disorders

The device is a pen-sized mass spectrometry device its developers are calling MasSpec Pen.

Scientists Invent a Pen That Can Detect Cancer in Seconds

This handheld mass spectrometer could make surgeries to remove cancerous tissue quicker and more accurate

The smart bin prototype

A Smart Recycling Bin Could Sort Your Waste for You

It's sometimes difficult to know where to put different types of plastic, but computer vision could remove any confusion

Developers are breathing new life into indoor shopping malls.

The Transformation of the American Shopping Mall

Headlines claim malls are dying, and some are. But many others are having second lives as churches, schools, hospitals, even farms

Could this brace alleviate "crouch gait?"

This Robotic Exoskeleton Helps Kids With Cerebral Palsy Walk Upright

Children with cerebral palsy often walk in a crouched position, which is difficult to maintain over long distances. A robot suit can help.

SoftBank's humanoid robot "Pepper" can lead funerals.

Nine Tasks Robots Can Do That May Surprise You

Machines can cook your dinner, fill your prescriptions, make your shoes and much, much more

Printed graphene supercapacitor

Flexible Batteries May Soon Be Printed Right On Your Clothes

Graphene supercapacitors, printed directly on textiles, could power medical devices, wearable computers, even phone-charging shirts

And you thought your alarm clock was rough.

11 Cool, Funny or Just Plain Strange Patents for Back to School

From alarm clocks that pummel you in the head to ingenious devices to save your crayon nubs, a peek into the patent archives for back to school season

Natural Cycles App

Apps Can Help You Get Pregnant. But Should You Use Them as a Contraceptive?

An increasing number of women are relying on apps to track their menstrual cycles. Now, there's even an app approved as birth control.

A new tissue paper (as in, paper made from biological tissue) is so strong it can be folded into origami.

A Lab Accident Leads to Bioactive "Tissue Paper"

A spill of bioactive ink made from ovarian cells led to the creation of paper made from organs and tissues, with various potential medical uses

As author Tim Harford writes in his new book, sometimes the most important inventions are not the flashy ones.

From Lightbulbs to Mutual Funds: Tim Harford on Inventions That Changed the Modern Economy

Paper, the gramophone, double-entry bookkeeping, and barbed wire all make the list

This protein powder is made of bacteria that use hydrogen as their energy source. Not the most appetizing thought for some, but the researchers who developed this say using this as livestock feed could free up land for other purposes.

Scientists Make Food From Bacteria, Water, Electricity, and a Whole Lot of Patience

You may have heard that Finnish scientists had made food from electricity, but the truth is more complicated

An environmental sample processor is lowered into Lake Erie.

Underwater Robot Labs Monitor Toxins

The labs have been deployed in Lake Erie, where blooms of toxic algae have made water undrinkable in past years.

A visualization of the harness.

This Robotic Harness Could Help People Relearn to Walk After Injury

Swiss researchers have developed an algorithm-backed "smart" harness to help stroke and spinal cord injury victims practice walking in a more natural way.

Parisite-(La), a carbon-bearing mineral that was predicted by computer model before it was discovered.

Big Data (and You) Could Help Find 1,500 Undiscovered Minerals

Researchers are using new tools to predict where to find new minerals as well as to locate new sources of valuable resources like copper

Spider silk is stronger than steel and tougher than Kevlar, but making it in the lab has eluded scientists for decades.

New Artificial Spider Silk: Stronger Than Steel and 98 Percent Water

Researchers at Cambridge University have developed a process for making strong, stretchy threads in an environmentally friendly way

The microneedle patch being applied.

Needle-Free Patch Makes Vaccination as Easy as Putting on a Band-Aid

The new product could be available in about five years, scientists say

The e-mosquito prototype

A Blood-Monitoring Device Inspired by Mosquitoes

The e-mosquito is a continuous glucose-monitoring device that could help people with diabetes better manage their blood sugar

This is an illustration, not a picture, of a virus, because viruses are super small. But a new "VirusCam" promises to be able to see and track individual viruses, potentially leading to breakthroughs for human health.

"VirusCam" Can Watch Individual Viruses to (Someday) Keep You From Getting Sick

Viruses are tiny and hard to see, but a new microscope can track them individually to try to better prevent disease

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These Boots Could Save a Firefighter's Life

Engineer Hahna Alexander designed SmartBoots, which harvest energy from the wearer's steps, to aid workers in dangerous professions

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