Engineering

New Research

Deadly Chinese Earthquake May Have Been Man-Made

More than 600 people died in the August 3 Yunnan earthquake

September 10, 2014

Cool Finds

Scientists Are Actually Talking About Building Giant Space Lasers to Control the Weather

This is what happens when you refuse to do things the easy way

August 22, 2014

New Research

Geckos Can Control the Movement of Their Toe Hairs

Geckos take advantage of van der Waals forces to run across ceilings, but a simple shift allows them to drop to the ground

August 21, 2014

New Research

Lack of Workplace Support Keeps Women Out of Engineering Careers

Aspiring female engineers say that they perceive little chance of advancing in their field

August 11, 2014

Shark Week

Why Are Scientists Trying To Make Fake Shark Skin?

Faux marine animal skin could make swimmers faster, keep bathrooms clean and cloak underwater robots

August 11, 2014

Trending Today

The Wrecked Costa Concordia Cruise Ship Is Finally Being Towed Away

The ship’s remains will be broken down for scrap metal

July 14, 2014

New Research

Humans Have Been Messing With China’s Yellow River for 3,000 Years

When humans try to tame nature things rarely go according to plan

June 20, 2014

Cool Finds

These Nice, Safe Bike Lanes Will Make You Want to Jump on a Bike

Protected intersections already exist in the Netherlands. Could they ever come to the States?

June 20, 2014

Cool Finds

Tweaking the Banana’s Genome Could Save the Lives of Thousands of Children in Uganda

But not everyone agrees that GMO crops should be used to solve food and nutrition problems

June 16, 2014

New Research

When Fire Ants Build Rafts, There Are No Free Loaders

When fire ants form floating balls, not a single leg or antennae goes to waste

June 13, 2014

New Research

Spiders Get Information From the Vibrations of Their Webs

Depending on the frequency, a vibrating thread of silk can tell a spider if it needs to repair its home or go collect a snared snack

June 6, 2014

Cool Finds

Engineers Are Constructing a Giant Steel Lid to Contain Chernobyl’s Radioactive Core

The arch-shaped lid will protect against radioactive dust should Chernobyl’s decaying facilities collapse

April 29, 2014

New Research

It Is Now Technically Possible to Stop an Earthquake

Scientists have devised a way to reflect seismic waves

April 2, 2014

New Research

Scientists Build a Yeast Chromosome From Scratch. Next Up? Designer Genomes

Creating synthetic organisms with specially-tailored genomes is a long way off, but the first synthetic eukaryotic chromosome is a big step forward

March 27, 2014

Cool Finds

Iraq’s Impressive New Trains Can Zip Passengers Across the Country at 100 Miles Per Hour

The new trains will connect Baghdad with another major city

March 25, 2014

The Earliest and Greatest Engineers Were the Incas

Smithsonian Secretary G. Wayne Clough treks to Peru to see how Machu Picchu was built

January 2014

Soviet Russia Had a Better Record of Training Women in STEM Than America Does Today

Perhaps it’s time for the United States to take a page from the Soviet book just this one time

December 12, 2013

What is the Trick to Making the Most Waterproof Stuff on Earth?

It’s all in the texture. An MIT-led team of mechanical engineers is creating a super water-resistant material inspired by the wings of butterflies

December 6, 2013

Want to Revolutionize Energy? Improve the Battery

Better energy storage could transform electric vehicles and the power grid, and help the climate

May 22, 2013

Life in the City Is Essentially One Giant Math Problem

Experts in the emerging field of quantitative urbanism believe that many aspects of modern cities can be reduced to mathematical formulas

May 2013