Pain Is Weird. Making Bionic Arms Feel Pain Is Even Weirder
Researchers get a robotic prosthesis to feel pain. But is that something amputees would even want?
Inside the Science of Apeel, the Clever Coating That Saves Your Avocados
A coating doubles the ripeness window of avocados. How? By supercharging the defenses that evolution crafted on its own.
‘Ninjabot’ Reveals the Mantis Shrimp’s Wily Snail-Hunting Scheme
The mantis shrimp wields one of the fiercest strikes on Earth. With the help of a robot, researchers show that the predator is a master strategist, too.
Inside the Mad Lab That’s Getting Robots to Walk and Jump Like Us
Truly useful robots will have to be able to tackle everything humans can, so they've gotta have legs. Easier said than done though.
Forget X-Ray Vision. You Can See Through Walls With Radio
Researchers at MIT, actualizers of all things science fiction, have taken a different tack to seeing through walls: radio waves.
LA Is Doing Water Better Than Your City. Yes, That LA
With climate change on the horizon, Los Angeles is rushing to pull water from surprising sources. The goal: aqueous independence.
Wanna Pull Water Out of Air? Grab Some Ions or a Weird Sponge
These techniques won’t quench humanity's thirst, but they’ve got serious potential to help augment water supplies in particularly dry places.
We Need to Talk About Robots Trying to Pass as Humans
Robots that mimic humans are getting so entrancing, it’s easy to forget how ethically problematic they could be one day if we’re not careful.
Can a New Kind of Consumerism Help Fight Climate Change?
In a global scenario called Low Energy Demand, a revolution in consumer energy efficiency could help us meet our climate goals. Could.
Why Scientists Turned This Taxidermy Bird Into a Robot
Spoiler: It’s a sage grouse sexbot.