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Researchers have learned that running cockroaches recover from a shove before their dawdling nervous system kicks in to tell their legs what to do. These new insights on how biological systems stabilize could one day help engineers design steadier robots and improve doctors' understanding of human gait...

A new method of harvesting the Sun's energy is emerging, thanks to scientists at UC Santa Barbara's Departments of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Materials. Though still in its infancy, the research promises to convert sunlight into energy using a process based on metals that are more...

Researchers at Brown University have developed a robotic bat wing that provides valuable new information about dynamics of flapping flight in real bats. The robot, which mimics the wing shape and motion of the lesser dog-faced fruit bat, is designed to flap while attached to a force transducer in a wind tunnel.

Simple blast fences called baffles could deliver improvements in air quality for people living near airports, new research has found. Placed behind a runway, the baffles could serve as a “virtual chimney,” funneling emissions from aircraft engines upwards where they can...

The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) has developed a prototype system to help flights avoid major storms as they travel over remote ocean regions. The 8-hour forecasts of potentially dangerous atmospheric conditions are designed for pilots, air traffic controllers, and others...

The Air Force Civil Engineer Center, in conjunction with the Air Force Research Laboratory, recently introduced a first-of-its-kind runway rubber removal system for use at remote airfields. The device, which uses a retrofitted Unimog designed for transport to airfields in austere areas of Southwest Asia,...

A quick, accurate, and highly sensitive process to reliably detect minute traces of explosives on luggage, cargo, or traveling passengers has been demonstrated by scientists at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The vapor detection technology accurately detects and...

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.

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.

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 vehicles...

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.

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 capture...

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 properties...

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.

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...

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 the first...

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 miles...

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 beyond...

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 method...

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...

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have developed an instrument that puts pressure on wafers to find which ones are too fragile to make it through the manufacturing process. The device then kicks out weak wafers before they go through their costly...

Duke University engineers have developed a material that can be applied like paint to the hull of a ship and will literally be able to dislodge bacteria, keeping it from accumulating on the ship’s surface. This buildup on ships increases drag, reduces the energy efficiency of the vessel, as...

The largest solar power system in the U.S. Army is coming online at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. The Energy Savings Performance Contract, or ESPC, project, awarded and managed by the U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville, provides the sprawling desert base with a...

Using deceptive behavioral patterns of squirrels and birds, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed robots that are able to deceive each other. The research is funded by the Office of Naval Research and is led by Professor Ronald Arkin, who suggests the...

The best way to evaluate the effectiveness of a product is to put it in the hands of the user, obtain feedback, and make adjustments accordingly. With a newly developed Virtual Environment Test Bed, or VETB, scientists and engineers at the Target Behavioral Research Laboratory at...

NASA's "Chamber A" thermal vacuum testing chamber has now been upgraded and remodeled to accommodate the testing of the James Webb Space Telescope. Chamber A, the largest high-vacuum, cryogenic-optical test chamber in the world, was made famous for testing the space capsules for NASA's Apollo mission, with...

Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have developed the first testing facility that enables CT-scanning of ceramic composites under controlled loads, at ultrahigh temperatures and in real-time.The scientists created a...

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed elastic, self-healing wires in which both the liquid-metal core and the polymer sheath reconnect at the molecular level after being severed. The team first created tiny tunnels, called microfluidic channels, in a...