Skip to main content

Latest by D. Furness

brown recluse silk brownrecluse

Brown recluse spider's exceptionally strong silk inspires new generation of tough materials

Researchers from Oxford and William & Mary began discovered the spiders use a unique ribbon geometry not found in any other arachnid.
magnetic implant

Innovative medical implant uses a magnetic field to deliver drugs

The magnetic implant could help ease treatments for patients required to take many pills or undergo regular intravenous injections.
build biobot

Bioengineers share their biobot blueprints with the world

Five years ago, they developed biobots that moved using a power supply of rat heart cells. Now, the team wants to help other bioengineers build biobots.
1130411 autosave v1 mars2

Valley that shows signs of flooding may be key to identifying past life on Mars

Mars has a new hot spot for exploration, according to researchers who’ve identified a region that shows signs it was once flooded with water.
brain stent exoskeleton control robot augmentation automation

Robots and AI are coming for our jobs. Can augmentation save us from automation?

pal v liberty liberty3

Bold idea gets off the ground: First flying car now available for pre-order

Five years after demonstrating its first successful test flight, PAL-V has begun accepting preorders for what may be the first flying car.
NASA asteroid

Watch live: Experts discuss why Asteroid Day could save us from catastrophy

Astronomers from around the world hold a press conference leading up to the first official U.N. Asteroid Day, to be held on June 30.
wastewater treamtnet dsfome4 the little bacterium feat

Powerhouse bacteria decontaminates wastewater and makes energy

Researchers have demonstrated that this unusual bacteria may some day offer a means to decontaminate wastewater.
Exoplanets

Help find alien worlds: Astronomers release huge dataset of nearby stars

A team of astronomers led by the Carnegie Institution for Science has publicly released an immense catalog of observations on nearby stars.
lumilamp lumilamp7

Compact 3D-printed incubator helps plants get a strong start in life

LumiLamp is a 3D-printed, desk-sized incubator designed to grow seedlings indoors and year-round with minimal effort.
microhammer brain

Researchers build the world's smallest hammer to smash brain cells

The world’s smallest hammer has been created to study the physical, chemical, and biological effects to brain cells when we hit our head.
stomach acid power stomachacid

Open wide! Researchers develop medical sensors powered by stomach acid

Engineers from MIT and Brigham and Women’s Hospital have harnessed the power of stomach acid to keep small ingestible sensors running.
vertical forest verticalforest2

Buildings that breathe: Italian architect’s ‘Vertical Forest’ to sprout in China

Some 600 tall trees, 500 smaller trees, and 2,500 plants and shrubs will sprout from concrete balconies of the vertical forests.
uber flying car elevate

Uber’s newest hire aims to help the company make flying vehicles a reality

Former NASA advanced aircraft engineer Mark Moore will join Uber as the director of engineering for the company's flying car project.
jaxa space junk failure debris around earth

Satellites tremble as Japan's 'space junk' collection mission ends in failure

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's experimental "space junk" cleanup mission ended in failure Monday morning.
alpha shovel dmos

Do you live in a snowpocalypse? The Alpha Shovel makes life a bit easier

The multi-shovel comes with a telescoping shaft for packability, serrated teeth to cut through snow, and a big aluminum head.
skinte skin regeneration 222664 1280

Robotic skin: Researchers created a material twice as sensitive as human skin

Researchers have now designed a material that exceeds the sensitivity of human skin and may be used as an artificial skin for robots.
lithodomos vir lithodomus

Ancient history meets modern technology: Lithomodos VR reconstructs the past

An Australian startup is resurrecting ancient sites in VR environments and a new $679,000 seed funding round will help the firm in this work.
ikea open source 03 ddd hay tom dixon

Pimp my computer desk: Ikea will “open source” a new line of customizable furniture

Ikea has detailed its line of “open platform” furniture meant to encourage tinkerers to modify DIY products into new and interesting designs.
wearable mood analyzer csail

Social coach on your wrist: MIT-developed wearable predicts the wearer's mood

MIT researchers have developed a wearable they say can predict the mood of its wearer by analyzing speech patterns and physiological signs.
bdyhax 2017 dsc 0338new

Pushing the body’s boundaries: BodyHacking Conference 2017 kicks off

sony press event mwc 2016 news smartwatch 3 silver ces

Breathe in, breathe out: New technique controls smartwatch using breath and skin

New apps allow users to answer phone calls using their breath and scroll through apps by running their fingers against the watchband.
fish scale gloves alligator gar  atractosteus spatula

Tough as scales: Researchers create protective material inspired by fish skin

In a bid to build flexible and protective gear, researchers turned to nature for inspiration and frequented a fish market for subjects.
spacesuit boeing suit3

Boeing unveils its new line of advanced — and snazzy — blue spacesuits

Boeing just revealed its snazzy blue spacesuits designed for NASA astronauts aboard the company’s upcoming CST-100 Starliner spaceship.
researchers rendered light metal wood glints ocean

Swarm of grapefruit-sized robots helps scientists unlock secrets of the sea

The Digital Self: We need laws that empower consumers in the face of big data

Conquering the clutter: Data Civilizer can sift through heaps of information

Data Civilizer helps minimize the grunt work involved in aggregating and organizing big data so scientists can get right to the analysis.
Programming language genetically engineers bacteria to heal cells

Biologists just created the world’s first stable semi-synthetic organism

Created by a team of bioengineers, the semisynthetic organism has DNA made up of four natural bases and two manmade bases.
boss sensor digital face recognition

Slacker hacker: Programmer uses AI to disguise his screen when his boss nears

A procrastinating programmer created a deep learning face-recognition program that can hide your screen when your boss walks by.
bioclay pesticide alternative plantvillage

Pests begone! BioClay offers a safe and sustainable alternative to pesticides

A research team at the University of Queensland in Australia is developing BioClay, an environmentally sustainable alternative to pesticides.
hi seas mission v seas14 970x546 c

A crew of six enter a geodesic dome to find out what it's like to live on Mars

An international crew of six enter a geodesic dome atop Hawaii’s Mauna Loa to begin an eight-month experiment on isolation and confinement.
smartuv camera nurugo

Save your skin from sun damage by snapping a photo in invisible ultraviolet

New Kickstarter campaign SmartUV hopes to promote skin health by letting people see themselves in UV, which is invisible to the naked eye.
webcam iscc iscc3

Superthin and sleek webcam cover helps protect your privacy in style

There are better things than tape to cover your webcam and new Kickstarter campaign offers a super thin and functional solution.
ai heart disease 3d

Artificial intelligence can now predict heart failure, and that may save lives

An artificial intelligence system has accurately predicted when patients with heart conditions will die, according to new results published
sun calendar

Here comes the Sun: ESA releases montage showing the Sun every day in 2016

The European Space Agency's montage shows the Sun as seen by the agency’s PROBA2 satellite throughout 2016.