Smart News Ideas & Innovations

A "deliberately inconvenient" twin champagne glass created by Athens-based architect Katerina Kamprani

Virtual Travel

Take a Virtual Tour of Failed Designs, From the DeLorean to Google Glass

An online exhibition showcases 40 creative flops, including a curvy ping-pong table and a doll dubbed Little Miss No-Name

When the two microflyers twirled around eachother midair, the researchers dubbed the maneuver "The Tango."

New Research

New Microflyers Could Soar in the Atmosphere's Most Mysterious Layer

The mesosphere is too dense for satellites to orbit there, but too thin for planes and balloons to fly

A group of perovskite solar cells that have been treated with capsaicin.

New Research

Chili Pepper Compound Increases Solar Cell Efficiency

Adding capsaicin, the chemical responsible for making chili peppers spicy, improved the efficiency of solar cells in experiments

The Bloodhound supersonic car reached 628 miles per hour in 2019, but the team hopes to pass 1,000 miles per hour with the addition of a rocket

Supersonic Car Designed to Break Land Speed Record Is for Sale Again

A businessman bought it in 2018 to keep the project alive but the pandemic has thrown off the schedule

The SpaceX Cargo Dragon capsule separating from the International Space Station after undocking from the Harmony module’s international docking adapter.

Case of Bordeaux Wine Returns to Earth After a Year in Space

Last week a dozen bottles splashed into the Gulf of Mexico inside SpaceX’s Dragon capsule after a year aboard the International Space Station

Each fish-inspired robot uses two wide-angle cameras to look for the LEDs on its companions.

New Research

These 3-D Printed Robot Fish Sync and Swim

The small water-bound robots use wide-angle cameras and three bright LEDs to move in synchronized swarms

A new chemical process uses an iron-based catalyst to turn carbon dioxide into jet fuel. So far the process has only been proven effective in lab settings, but if researchers can scale it up it could lessen the climate impact of air travel.

New Research

Scientists Use Iron to Turn Carbon Dioxide Into Jet Fuel

If the chemical reaction at the heart of the process can be scaled up, it could help reduce the carbon footprint of air travel

New Space Force "Guardians" being sworn in.

Space Force Troops Are Now Officially 'Guardians' of the Galaxy

Members of the newest and smallest branch of the military, which turned one this December, will now be known as 'Guardians'

At the moment, more than two dozen companies across the world are working to grow beef, chicken and fish in labs.

In a Global First, Lab-Grown Chicken Nuggets Will Soon Be on the Menu in Singapore

By culturing cells, food scientists have learned to grow meat in a lab without killing any animals or relying on deforestation

Russian physicist and engineer Lev Sergeyevich Termen—who later came to be widely known as Léon Theremin—invented his namesake instrument around 1920. Here, he's pictured in 1928.

Art Meets Science

The Soviet Spy Who Invented the First Major Electronic Instrument

Created by a Russian engineer, the theremin has delighted and confounded audiences since 1920

Student researchers analyzed this leaf from a Book of Hours (left), a devotional Christian manuscript that dates to the 15th century. The students found traces of French cursive writing beneath the visible text (right). The cursive was likely scraped away to make the parchment reusable for the illuminated Gothic script.

Cool Finds

College Sophomores Discover Hidden Text in Medieval Manuscript

Students at Rochester Institute of Technology used a self-developed UV imaging system to assess a 15th-century religious document

A wolf-like robot dubbed "Monster Wolf" photographed in 2017. An updated model was recently installed in the town of Takikawa on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido. The robot's motion sensor triggers flashing red LED eyes and a selection of 60 sounds aimed to frighten animals back into the wild.

Robotic 'Monster Wolf' Protects Japanese Town From Bears

No bear interactions have been recorded in the town since the robots' installation in September

A new chili pepper-shaped device that connect with a smartphone to reveal how much capsaicin is in a hot pepper.

New Research

This Chili-Shaped Smartphone Accessory Can Measure a Pepper's Spiciness

New device can measure concentrations of capsaicin, the compound that gives peppers their burning heat

Researchers test out Curly, an AI-powered curling robot, in 2018.

Curly the Curling Robot Can Beat the Pros at Their Own Game

An AI-powered robot was able to beat professional curling teams 3-out-of-4 times, a new study shows

The Mayflower Autonomous Ship's debut in Plymouth, England, is one of many events marking the 400th anniversary of the original Mayflower's 1620 journey.

An A.I.-Driven 'Mayflower' Will Cross the Atlantic Next Year

The autonomous vessel's launch, originally scheduled to mark the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrims' landing at Plymouth, was delayed by the pandemic

As the researcher taps the page, numbers appear on screen.

With a Simple Piece of Paper, Engineers Create Self-Powered, Wireless Keyboard

Scientists at Purdue University have found a way to make a piece of paper digitally interactive

The pairing of Francisco de Zurbarán’s The Martyrdom of Saint Serapion and Jan Asselijn’s The Threatened Swan in the Rijksmuseum's "Rembrandt and Velazquez" exhibition inspired MosAIc's creators.

Art Meets Science

How an Algorithm Draws Unexpected Connections Between Works of Art

Given a starting image, the artificial intelligence can identify objects that match its colors, textures and themes

Critterpedia allows users to identify Australian spider and snake species with the snap of a photo.

This Australian App Is Like 'Shazam' for Spiders and Snakes

New AI tool will help users identify venomous species

Reconstruction of the Sanctuary of Asclepius in Epidauros

Did the Ancient Greeks Design Temples With Accessibility in Mind?

Study suggests ramps found at ancient sites may have been used by people with disabilities, but some scholars remain skeptical

An array of 24 speakers can quiet city noise by as much as closing the window

New Research

Window-Mounted Device Could Keep Out City Noise

A microphone outside the window measures the incoming noise so that an array of two dozen speakers can cancel it out

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