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News
New NASA Space Telescope Optics Offer Look at Distant Planets

New NASA technology offers a look at distant planets that not only are the right size and traveling in the temperate habitable zone of their host star, but also show signs of potential life, such as atmospheric oxygen and liquid water.

News
Researchers Use Combustible Gases to Power Leaping Robots

Using small explosions produced by a mix of methane and oxygen, researchers at Harvard have designed a soft robot that can leap as much as a foot in the air. The ability to jump could one day prove critical in allowing the robots to avoid obstacles during search and rescue operations.

Question of the Week
As the Fitness Technology Market Expands, Will You Use New Personal Fitness/Health Devices?

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) announced that this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas had 25 percent more booths related to digital health and fitness technology compared to the previous year's event. Showcased products...

News
Ice Detector Warns Drivers of Slippery Roads

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has developed an automatic slipperiness detection system for cars that helps drivers avoid accidents in slippery road conditions. Thanks to the system, vehicles are warned in advance of a road’s actual slipperiness. If the road becomes slippery, other...

News
Automated System Rapidly Produces 3D Zebrafish Images

Engineers at MIT have now built an automated system that can rapidly produce 3-D, micron-resolution images of thousands of zebrafish larvae and precisely analyze their physical traits. The system offers a comprehensive view of how potential drugs affect vertebrates.

INSIDER: Power

As fuel prices rise, cheaper (and cleaner) forms of energy become more attractive and important to consumers. Gas-electric hybrid cars such as the Toyota Prius and Ford...

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INSIDER: Energy

A new study of the batteries commonly used in hybrid and electric-only cars has revealed an unexpected factor that could limit the performance of batteries currently on the...

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News: RF & Microwave Electronics
Wireless Telemetry System Captures Complex Flight of Dragonflies

Wireless Telemetry System Captures Complex Flight of Dragonflies Duke University electrical engineers have developed a wirelessly powered telemetry system that is light and powerful enough to allow scientists to study the intricate neurological activity of dragonflies as they...

INSIDER: Electronics & Computers

Looking toward improved batteries for charging electric cars and storing energy from renewable but intermittent solar and wind, scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have...

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News
Microscope Captures Motion of DNA Structures

Scientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have recently developed techniques for visualizing the behavior of biological nanostructures in both space and time, allowing them to directly measure stiffness and map its variation throughout the network.

Knowing the mechanical...

News
NASA Robot Digs Lunar Soil

After decades of designing and operating robots full of scientific gear to study other worlds, NASA is working on a prototype that leaves the delicate instruments at home in exchange for a sturdy pair of diggers and the reliability and strength to work all day, every day for years.

Question of the Week
Will Wearable Computing Replace the Smartphone over the Next Decade?

The New York Times reported last week that Apple is experimenting with wristwatch-like devices made of curved glass. Although these kinds of "smartwatches" do not yet have the market that tablets and smartphones do, consumers have shown some interest in buying them.

News
Motion Control Keeps Electric Car’s Four Wheels on the Road

It weighs half as much as a sports car, and turns on a dime—so its no surprise that the electric car being developed at Ohio State University needs an exceptional traction and motion control system to keep it on the road. With four wheels that turn independently, each with its own...

News: Motion Control
Scientists Design and Control Movements of Molecular Motor

An international team of scientists has taken the next step in creating nanoscale machines by designing a multi-component molecular motor that can be moved clockwise and counterclockwise.

Although researchers can rotate or switch individual molecules on and off, the new study is...

News
Robot to Serve as Future Military’s ‘Pack Mule’

The warfighter who carries up to 100 pounds of equipment on his back is expected to get relief from the cumbersome weight. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) semiautonomous Legged Squad Support System (LS3) robot will carry 400 pounds of warfighter equipment, walk 20...

News
New Electronic Switch Mimics Behavior of Biological Neuron

University of Michigan engineers are developing a new type of electronic switch that mimics the behavior of a biological neuron in the human brain, which is able to perform complex tasks much more efficiently than regular computers. Like brains, these computers would be able to reach...

News
System Cleans ‘Produced Water’ from Natural Gas Wells

A process developed by engineers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology produces clean water at relatively low cost. After further development, the process could also lead to inexpensive, efficient desalination plants for communities in the developing world, the researchers say.

The...

News: Photonics/Optics
Hogberry Inspires Color-Tunable Photonic Fibers

A team of materials scientists at Harvard University and the University of Exeter, UK, has invented a new fiber that changes color when stretched. Inspired by nature, the researchers identified and replicated the unique structural elements that create the bright, iridescent blue color of a tropical...

Question of the Week
Is 3D Printing a Promising Technology for Future Space Missions?

Industrial partners have joined with the European Space Agency (ESA) to test the feasibility of 3D printing using lunar soil. The ESA is assessing whether it is possible to build a lunar base from materials found on the moon.

Products

Interpower Corporation, Oskaloosa, IA, has introduced the 85521711 International Power Source (IPS), a source of AC power at various operating voltages and frequencies found...

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Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Magnetic Shield for Adiabatic Demagnetization Refrigerators (ADR)

A new method was developed for creating a less expensive shield for ADRs using 1018 carbon steel. This shield has been designed to have similar performance to the expensive vanadium permen dur shields, but the cost is 30 to 50% less. Also, these shields can be stocked in a variety...

Articles: Motion Control

Designers of medical pumps often have to deal with the challenge of implementing precise, yet low-cost motion control. For most medical pumps, there are three basic technology...

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Articles: Software
Embracing Mobility

When asked about how their customers are embracing the idea of using CAD online, in the cloud, or on mobile devices, most of our executives indicated that while customers are...

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Who's Who: Aerospace

David Mitchell is the project manager of the MAVEN mission, which will examine environmental changes on Mars. MAVEN instruments will look beyond the planet's...

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Podcasts
David Mitchell, MAVEN Project Manager, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD

David Mitchell is the project manager of the MAVEN mission, which will examine environmental changes on Mars. MAVEN instruments will look beyond the planet's surface and provide a better understanding of solar interactions, magnetic fields, and the atmosphere in...

Briefs: Information Technology
Measurements of Ultra-Stable Oscillator (USO) Allan Deviations in Space

Researchers have used data from the GRAIL mission to the Moon to make the first in-flight verification of ultra-stable oscillators (USOs) with Allan deviation below 10–13 for 1-to-100-second averaging times. USOs are flown in space to provide stable timing...

Briefs: Physical Sciences
Rover Low Gain Antenna Qualification for Deep Space Thermal Environments

A method to qualify the Rover Low Gain Antenna (RLGA) for use during the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission has been devised. The RLGA antenna must survive all ground operations, plus the nominal 670 Martian sol mission that includes the summer and winter seasons of the...

Briefs: Software
Gaseous Nitrogen Orifice Mass Flow Calculator

The Gaseous Nitrogen (GN2) Orifice Mass Flow Calculator was used to determine Space Shuttle Orbiter Water Spray Boiler (WSB) GN2 high-pressure tank source depletion rates for various leak scenarios, and the ability of the GN2 consumables to support cooling of Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) lubrication...

Webcasts

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On-Demand Webinars: Defense

From Data to Decision: How AI Enhances Warfighter Readiness

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Upcoming Webinars: Aerospace

April Battery & Electrification Summit

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Upcoming Webinars: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Tech Update: 3D Printing for Transportation in 2024

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Upcoming Webinars: Materials

Unleashing Epoxy's Potential: Ensuring Hermetic Sealing in Modern...

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Upcoming Webinars: Test & Measurement

Building an Automotive EMC Test Plan

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Upcoming Webinars: Aerospace

The Moon and Beyond from a Thermal Perspective

Videos