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Latest by Luke Dormehl

mit supernumerary robotic limbs project robot

MIT’s Supernumerary Robotic Limbs give you the extra arms you always wanted

You know Spider-Man's villain Doctor Octopus? Well, MIT researchers just developed similar assistive robotic limbs in real life.
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Artificial intelligence is helping stroke patients to walk again

Researchers in Europe have developed an AI-equipped robot harness that can help teach stroke and spinal cord injury patients to walk again.
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3D-printed 'Earable' device monitors your core temperature to track well-being

Researchers from UC Berkeley have developed a 3D-printed wearable device for the ear, designed to monitor core temperature in real time.
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NASA says the buzzing of drones is totally the most annoying sound

According to NASA, the buzz of drones is the most annoying sound produced by any vehicle -- even when played at the same volume.
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Hyper-detailed map of a fly's brain reveals which neurons trigger behavior

Researchers at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute have used AI to create a hyper-detailed map of a fly's brain, neuron by neuron.
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Mechanical ‘smart stairs’ provide assistance with each step

Energy-recycling smart stairs make it easier for people to climb up and down steps. The results could be a valuable rehab tool.
escalator sterilizer

Germaphobes take note: LG has just invented a high-tech handrail sterilizer

LG just announced the creation of the world's first “Handrail UV LED Sterilizer,” designed to remove germs from the handrails of escalators.
tardigrades

Earth’s most durable creature gives us hope for finding extraterrestrial life

Researchers from Harvard and Oxford think they've pinpointed the creature most likely to survive a near wipeout of life on Earth.
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Future chatbots will be able to argue with you enough to help change your mind

A researcher from the University of North Carolina is building argumentative chatbots that will try and change your mind.
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Tortured-artist robot trawls beaches, scrawling poems in the sand

Ever wondered what a robot-as-tortured-artist might look like? This new beach-trawling poet bot might answer that question for you.
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The Encephalophone lets users create music just by thinking about it

Neurologists at the University of Washington have developed the Encephalophone, a hands-free, thought-controlled musical instrument.
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The world’s fastest drone flies at almost 1/4 the speed of sound

Regular drones aren't exactly slowpokes, but they're put to shame by the record-breaking DRL RacerX of the Drone Racing League.
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Some of us might soon be living on artificial floating mega islands

Researchers at the Maritime Research Institute Netherlands (MARIN) are figuring out the best way to build giant floating mega cities.
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This crazily realistic video forgery of Obama was generated by a lip-syncing AI

Computer scientists at the University of Washington have created an AI Barack Obama that lip-syncs to old recorded audio clips.
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Scientists just used CRISPR to encode a GIF into the DNA of a virus

Harvard scientists have just demonstrated that it's possible to write images and movies into the DNA of living organisms.
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Swiss scientists just 3D printed an artificial heart that beats like the real thing

Scientists at Switzerland’s ETH Zurich have used 3D printing to create a functional beating heart made of silicone. Here's why.
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Bicycle-inspired elevator uses pedal power to move you between floors

Vycle is a concept for a personal lift in the form of a wall-mounted bicycle, designed to let you pedal between floors in your office.
robot lawyer

Free robot lawyer can now help you with 1,000 different legal scenarios

DoNotPay, the free robot lawyer service which has helped people fight $4 million worth of parking tickets can now aid you in other areas.
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New artificial spider silk can absorb 70 percent of the energy in impacts

Researchers from the United Kingdom have developed artificial spider silk that’s super-stretchy, impressively strong, and sustainable.
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Smart gloves can recognize American Sign Language and convert to text

Researchers at UC San Diego have developed a smart glove that's able to automatically translate American Sign Language into digital text.
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Chemists create Star Wars-style 3D 'holograms' in a flask of liquid

New 3D projection technology allows for the creation of three-dimensional light structures. Just don't you dare call this a hologram!
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NATO’s new protocol lets underwater sensors talk to each other

What's more exciting than the regular Internet of Things? An underwater Internet of Things, of course! And NATO's helping build one.
anti-cancer vaccines

Move over chemotherapy? Personalized anti-cancer vaccines make strides

Based on two new studies involving anti-cancer vaccines, curing skin cancer could one day be as straightforward as getting an injection.
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Lab-grown capillaries are here, 3D-printed organs are just around the corner

Scientists have demonstrated a method for growing capillaries, the tiny vessels responsible for transporting blood around the body.
Neurescue

This physician wants to fight cardiac arrest deaths with… RC balloons?

Neurescue is a small, computer-controlled balloon catheter -- designed to be used during CPR -- that could help save lives.
BondicEVO Liquid Plastic Welder

Bondic’s new Liquid Plastic Welder reinvents glue for the 3D-printing age

The Liquid Plastic Welder is a pocket-sized device that extrudes a stream of liquid plastic, which hardens when you blast it with UV light.
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Carnegie Mellon taught a computer to read human body language in real time

Researchers from Carnegie Mellon have developed tech that's capable of recognizing the body poses and movements of multiple people.
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‘Dynamic defrosting’ tech promises to clear your windshield 10 times faster

Researchers from Virginia Tech have developed new technology that’s capable of defrosting surfaces 10 times faster than normal.
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Virtual reality study could help teach self-driving cars ethics

Researchers have been using virtual reality technology to help unpack the kind of moral questions self-driving cars will have to answer.
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Print me a pint: 3D-printed bioreactor offers smart new way to brew beer

Researchers at Seattle's University of Washington have invented a new, cheaper, more efficient way to ferment yeast -- using a 3D printer.
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Drones, smart sensors, and AI may soon guard the U.S. border

University of Arizona researchers are developing an AI framework that will work out how best to deploy smart tech to patrol the U.S. border.
Researchers at the University of Washington have developed a prototype battery-free cellphone.

The world’s first battery-free phone harvests energy from radio waves

So long, chargers! Engineers at the University of Washington have created a prototype cell phone that requires no battery to make calls.
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Invisibility cloaks could make solar panels 9 percent more efficient

Researchers in Germany have demonstrated that solar panels that use an invisibility cloak to make it 9 percent more efficient.
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Lightweight flying squirrel drone could soon carry out military scout missions

The U.S. Army Research Laboratory developed a flying squirrel-inspired scout drone that weighs just over half a pound.