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Latest by Luke Dormehl

wine

No grapes necessary — Ava Winery makes fine wines molecule by molecule

Synthetic winemaker Ava Winery wants to democratize the pricey business of drinking wine by taking it out of the vineyards and into the lab.
x-ray pulse

Physicists smash record with world's fastest X-ray pulse of light

Researchers have just broken a world record with their demonstration of the fastest X-ray pulse ever developed.
graphene

Health-tracking graphene tattoos are the latest step on the path to cyborgs

Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have developed a graphene tattoo that can track your various health biometrics.
sweat wearable without effort biosensor 3

Unusual wearable makes you sweat without effort — and that’s a good thing

University of Cincinnati engineers have developed a smart biosensor which prompts users to sweat even when they’re resting and cool.
hive

Using smart sensors to monitor a hive reveals when bee colonies are in trouble

A student from Simon Fraser University built a smart hive-monitoring system to help find out why bee populations are declining.
Audiologist fitting a patient's hearing aid.

Cognitive hearing aid uses AI and brain waves to enhance voices

Columbia University's “cognitive hearing aid” uses brain waves and AI to figure out the voice a user wants to listen to and dials in on it.
robot

A New Jersey hospital just added a superbug-zapping robot to its staff

Saint Peter’s University Hospital in NJ has just added to its staff a new cleaning robot that’s designed to zap superbugs with UV light.
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Massive solar plant in the Sahara could help keep the EU powered

A proposed solar plant in the Sahara desert could produce 4.5 gigawatts of power, bound for mainland Europe.
plastic

3D-printing material can be melted and remolded at surprisingly low temperature

A new 3D-printable plastic developed by U.K.-based company Torc2 has a surprisingly low melting point of just 131 degrees Fahrenheit.
skin grafts

Skin grafts could replace the need for insulin injections in diabetics

CRISPR gene-editing skin grafts could help fight Type-2 diabetes and obesity, according to research from University of Chicago Medical Center.
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The craft beer names this artificial intelligence comes up with are … unique

A computer scientist has come up with a neural network that generates names for new craft beers. They're ... unique.
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Transparent ‘window into the brain’ lets sound waves through the skull

A transparent skull implant designed by researchers from the U.S. and Mexico is intended to make ultrasound brain surgery easier.
robot

Robot assembly line painting system saves paint, steals another job

A new smart robot painting system for assembly lines takes yet another job which was previously carried out by humans.
BPA

Chemists figure out how to strip 99 percent of BPA from drinking water

After 15 years of hard work, chemists have come up with a way of quickly and cheaply removing potentially harmful chemical BPA from water.
solar sunglasses electricity solarbrillen bild

Solar sunglasses generate electricity while you wear them

Researchers at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology have developed a pair of solar sunglasses that generate electricity as you wear them.
drone

Innovative vertical-landing drone can stick to walls like a fly

This bio-inspired fixed-wing drone is capable of autonomously perching and taking off from vertical surfaces, both indoors and outdoors.
stanford

Stanford’s surprise discovery may lead to new breakthrough metamaterials

A chance discovery by Stanford researchers has opened up the possibility of developing new materials with unique, specially tuned properties.
AI

Watching artificial intelligence teach itself how to walk is weirdly captivating

Researchers from Singapore and British Columbia have used reinforcement learning to create an AI which learns to walk through trial and error.
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Graphene made out of wood could help solve the e-waste problem

Scientists have successfully made wood into an electrical conductor by transforming its surface into all-round wonder material graphene.
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Gravity-measuring quantum device could help find buried oil or shale gas

Gravity-measuring quantum device could be used to help locate buried pipes, search for oil or minerals, or monitor shale gas sites.
dog

Gene therapy reverses muscular dystrophy symptoms in dogs

Researchers have demonstrated how gene therapy can reverse the symptoms of muscular dystrophy in dogs. Next up? Treating kids as well.
A soccer goal net with the rest of the pitch in front.

Machine learning can identify the world’s most overpaid and underpaid soccer stars

Machine learning project reveals which soccer players are the most overpaid. And maybe shows how our own salaries will be calculated, too.
wearable device parkinsons falls biofeedbackt

Sensor-packed smart belt could help Parkinson’s patients stay on their feet

Researchers at the University of Houston developed a smartphone-based biofeedback rehab wearable that could help Parkinson's patients.
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Neuroscientists pinpoint what happens during the brain’s ‘Aha!’ moments

You know that “aha!” moment when you’re hit with the answer to a tough question? Researchers have shed light on how this happens in the brain.
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Strong and elastic spider silk can help retrain nerves to grow after damage

Spider silk may have an invaluable role to play in repairing extensive nerve injuries, according to researchers in Austria.
sunburn

DNA-based sunscreen sounds a bit odd, but it could totally save your skin

Scientists at Binghamton University developed a possible future sunscreen that gets better at blocking UV light over time.
3d-printed microscope

FlyPi is a low-cost 3D-printed microscope and 'neurogenetics lab'

FlyPi is a low cost 3D-printed microscope and “behavioral arena” that costs just $116 to build. That's a whole lot less than the pro gear!
jellyfish chips sustainable food vandmand 5 2 credit anders boe

Thanks to a Danish physicist, the world might soon be snacking on jellyfish chips

Jellyfish populations have been exploding in recent years. One innovative solution? Turn them into jellyfish chips, says one physicist.
trex computer model running t rex cant run

Jurassic Park lied. Artificial intelligence just proved that T. Rex couldn’t run

Scientists at University of Manchester have used machine learning to work out exactly how fast a T. Rex could actually run.
university michigan invisibility cloak nanoparticles could spur better leds cloaks chamber orig 20170719

Tech breakthrough could give us more efficient LEDs and invisibility cloaks, too

University of Michigan researchers want to make LED lights more efficient and develop Harry Potter-style invisibility cloaks, too.
harvard wireless folding robot battery free dsc 7095

Harvard’s folding origami robot can move without requiring battery power

Harvard researchers are using wireless magnetic fields and actuator “muscles” to make a folding robot that doesn't require batteries.
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Oxygen treatment reverses brain damage in a 2-year-old drowning patient

Doctors have reportedly been able to reverse severe brain damage suffered by a 2-year-old girl after she came close to drowning.
brainwaves

Research shows people’s brainwaves sync up when they converse

You know the Vulcan's mind meld trick that allows two people to temporarily share their brainwaves? Turns out it's a real thing. Kind of.
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Crazy vine robot will grow to rescue survivors, put out fires, and more

This soft vine robot is able to grow up to 236 feet, and navigate through some tight spaces -- all by pumping itself up with air.