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Bread mold could build the batteries of the future

A study into a strain of red bread mold could revolutionize our rechargeable battery technology. The paper's findings could be the first step towards producing sustainable electrochemical materials.

This is how one French power plant produces electricity using cheese

The town of Albertville in southeastern France has begun using cheese to generate electricity. Their power plant, build in the Savoie region, uses the byproduct of the local Beaufort cheeses as the base for its biogas power generation system.

Heavy marijuana users process stressful stimuli similarly to those with an anxiety disorder

Heavy marijuana users react to anxiety-inducing stimuli similarly to people diagnosed with anxiety disorders, a new study found. The results could help improve the accuracy of anxiety disorder diagnostics in the future.

Islamic art inspires metamaterial that grows when stretched

A new type of metamaterial that can grow when stretched, with possible applications for medical equipment and satellites, was inspired by an unlikely source -- ancient Islamic art.

The Crunch Effect -- how listening to your chewing can help you lose weight

The sounds you make while chewing have a significant effect on the amount of food you eat, a new study has found. The results suggest that people are likely to consume less if they can hear themselves eating.

Off-grid shower recovers and purifies 96% of water for you to use again

What's the most important resource on the planet? Water of course.

New SARS-like virus can jump directly to humans from bats

A virus similar to SARS has been identified in Chinese horseshoe bats that may be able to infect humans without prior adaptation. Overcoming this genetic barrier could be the first step for an outbreak, according to a study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Biological wheels and motors imaged for the first time

Morgan Beeby and his colleagues at the Imperial College London used electron microscopy to image these biological motors in high resolution and three dimensions for the first time.

More than 13 million Americans could be at risk from sea level rise by 2100

A new study analyzing sea level rise forecasts as well as population growth projections found that we've underestimated just how many people would be impacted by rising waters. Anywhere from 4.3 to 13.1 million people from the US alone will face the risk of inundation by 2100, according to their estimate.

Batteries made from carbon nanotubes are lit like a fuse to make power

Lithium, the stuff the battery in your smartphone or notebook are made of, is a toxic substance and in short supply. It's pretty clear it's not a sustainable solution to our mobile power generation needs. One alternative explored by researchers at MIT uses carbon nanotubes, which are non-toxic and non-metallic.

Six cockroach-sized micro robots tow a 3,900-Pound Car

Inspired by ants, researchers mimicked the insects' individual super strength and collective hive mind in tiny robots. Each weighs only 0.2 pounds, but six were enough to tow a 3,900 pound-car, with one of the researchers seated as well.

Humanity strikes back - Go champion wins round against dominant AI

It's been a tough run for Go champion Lee Se-dol who lost game after game in what could very well be the match of the century, against Google's AlphaGo algorithm.

No web, no worries -- spiders also like to eat vegetarian

Spiders' diets aren't limited to juicy insect bits. They spice up their menus with vegetarian courses too, zoologists from the US and UK have found.

Research team grows "dinosaur legs" on a chicken for the first time

Researchers have manipulated the genome of chicken embryos so that they develop dinosaur-like bones in their lower legs.

Evolution selects the most effective genes -- even by a hundredth of a percent

A new study measuring the forces that shape bacterial genomes determined that a difference in efficiency of hundredth of a percent is sufficient to determine the winners and losers in the evolutionary race.

Paper skin made with Post-it notes, aluminium foil and other household items

Inspired to 'make tomorrow now', an industrious team of Saudi researchers baffled everyone by demonstrating an artificial skin made with household items.

Religious attendance in the US follows the same trend as everywhere else -- downwards

Religiousness in the Unites States is on the decline, mirroring patterns seen across the western world a new study from UCL and Duke University finds.

How the American diet leaves people both overfed and undernourished at the same time

More than half of American's calories come from ultra-processed foods, a new study finds. The data also indicates close to 90% of total added sugar intake can be traced back to these foodstuffs.

After Go, Google AI has its eyes set on Starcraft

Google engineers may have their eyes set on Starcraft - a strategy computer game.

Computer Beats Go World Champ, Leading Series 2-0

Google's algorithm AlphaGo stunned the world by defeating Go legend Lee Se-dol yesterday, and today, it just won the second game of the series.

Study hints at a form of bacterial collective memory

A new study found that whole populations of bacteria retain their tolerance to stressors for a much longer duration than individual cells.

This protein might be the key to developing the fabled slim-pill -- that actually works

An international team has discovered that by inhibiting Gq protein production in adipose tissue, cells can be re-purposed from storing fat to burning it.

Using origami, scientists are making the smallest surgical tools yet

Mechanical engineers at Brigham Young University are combining the versatility of origami with mechanical know-how to produce the smallest surgical tools.

Young children may benefit from playing video games

Researchers found a positive association between the amount of time spent playing video games and children's mental health as well as their mental and social aptitudes.

Is the impact of climate change on agriculture underestimated?

A new paper suggests that we've been overlooking how two key human responses to climate -- the total area farmed and the number of crops planted -- will impact food production in the future.

Radar-suppression meta-skin could be the first step towards an invisibility cloak

Iowa State University engineers have created a flexible, tunable "meta-skin," a material that uses rows of liquid-metal devices to cloak an object from radar detection.

Stretchable artificial skin might make robots more human, and vice-versa

An artificial ‘skin’ can stretch up to 480 percent its original size, and can sense changes in pressure – a haptic feature that could lend both robots and human prostheses a sense of touch.

This one amoeba could hold the secret to fixing immune deficiencies in humans

These predatory amoebas are usually very good at finding enough to eat by themselves, but when food is short they do something astonishing.

Popular blood pressure app not accurate, research finds

Researchers found that the app misses high blood pressure in 8 out of 10 cases, giving patients a false sense of security.

Estonian schools piloting open source software

Schools in Estonia's capital Tallinn are piloting a new program, gradually moving to PC workstations running on free and open source software.

Mosul dam engineers warn it could fail at any time, killing 1 million people

A tragedy is just waiting to happen in one of the largest cities in the Middle East, engineers warn. The Iraqis who built the dam structure for the Mosul dam warn that the structure is “increasingly precarious” and threatens to kill 1 million people. They also said the government’s answer has been ridiculous. The Mosul […]

People spend more on climate adaptability to protect capital, not lives

A research team from University College in London has calculated that in the last five years, the ten biggest cities have increased their climate adaptation spending by a quarter. But they also found that it’s capital, not people, that we’re investing the most  to protect. Beyond the moral implications this entails, it also means that poor […]

MIT develops new solar cells, 400 times more efficient and light enough to drape a soap bubble

An MIT research team has developed a new technology that will allow for the creation of lighter and thinner solar cells than ever before. While the team says there is still work to be done before making them commercially available, the panels already proved their efficacy in laboratory settings. They hope that their work will power […]

Quantum dot technology breakthrough brings it one step closer to a screen near you

A team from Cornell University’s School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering has found a way to arrange quantum dots together in an almost perfect structure.

The original haute couture: archaeologists unearth fabrics from King Solomon's time

Recent archaeological findings in the Timna region in Israel's southern Arava Valley showcase the surprising variety and quality of the clothes worn some 3,000 years ago.

Genetic-scissor enzyme eliminates HIV completely in mice trials

A new gene-snipping enzyme was successful in removing strands of HIV genetic material in mice trials. If the enzyme can prove its reliability in human trials it might revolutionize how we fight the virus forever.

Biggest innovators in US tech are well-educated immigrants

Stop for a moment and think about the traditional image of a US innovator. He’s probably a brilliant college drop-out who doesn’t want to be constrained by the system so he sets out and does his own thing, changing the world and making lots of money in the process. Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, […]

Passive Wi-Fi uses 10,000 less energy and can power devices

University of Washington researchers want to flip Wi-Fi energy use upside down. They've invented a new protocol and technique that uses 10,000 less energy. The same signal can be used to power devices without the need of an external power source. Cameras, temperature or motion sensors can all be power and connected to the internet at the same time using 'passive Wi-Fi.'

Are you the only one who "hears" what you read? Science says no!

A new paper from New York University researchers suggests that most people do hear an internal voice while they’re reading. The insights from this analysis lend some support to theories that say auditory hallucinations are inner voices that are incorrectly identified as not belonging to the self. So when you read something do you “hear” […]

New Robotic Prosthetic Hand Replicates the Real Deal

Most modern prosthetics try to look like the real deal, while still featuring underlying robotics. Two researchers at the University of Washington’s Department of Computer Science & Engineering wanted to try another approach – to create a hand that acts like its biological equivalent, even though it may not look like one. In order to do […]

Robots highly likely to take over jobs that pay 20$/hour or less

It's obvious that automation will replace a lot of jobs in the coming decades, especially the low paying ones. A new report made at the White House assessed the likelihood of robots taking over jobs and broke it down by hourly wage.

Sharks usually eat meals smaller than one of yours

The voracious reputation of sharks might soon change as marine biologists uncover that most coral reef sharks eat pray smaller than a cheeseburger.

Chronic exposure to air pollution makes rats obese

A laboratory study on rats found that the animals that breathed Beijing's notoriously polluted air gained weight and showed sighs of cardio-respiratory and metabolic dysfunctions after three to eight weeks of exposure.

Vaccine against HPV proves its worth, so why don't Americans use it?

A new study confirms the the effectiveness of a HPV vaccine introduced almost a decade ago in the US; the virus' prevalence in teenage girls is down by almost two thirds. Even for women in their early 20s, the group with the lowest vaccination rates, infections have been reduced by more than a third.

US asks Volkswagen to start making electric cars to make up for wrongdoings

In late 2015, Volkswagen (VW) admitted to cheating on US tests to make its diesel cars seem more green than they actually were.

Nano-probes sniff out cancer using their nucleic acids

In the new technique, nanotechnology is used to determine whether a specific target nucleic acid sequence exists within a mixture, and to quantify it if it does through a simple electronic signature.

Soon, oncologists will use shapeshifting to fight cancer

University of Toronto researchers have developed a molecular delivery system to administer chemotherapy drugs with as little collateral damage as possible.

Half the world will need glasses by 2050

Nearly half the world's population, close to some 5 billion people, will develop myopia by 2050 according to a study recently published in the journal Ophthalmology. The paper also estimates that one-fifth of these people will have a significantly increased risk of becoming permanently blind from the condition if recent trends continue.

Tests for the largest neutrino experiment yet begin with the DUNE Buggy

The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment Collaboration has started the first batch of tests using a small-scale 35 tons prototype of the final device, dubbed the DUNE Buggy. The team is busy gathering readings from the prototype to tweak and optimize the design of the final device.

Menopause appeared by accident, evolved due to stay-at-home males

When you think about it from a biological point of view....Menopause doesn't make that much sense, does it?

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