Science360
Humanoid robot Russell engages children with autism
With support from the National Science Foundation, mechanical and computer engineer Nilanjan Sarkar and psychologist Zachary Warren at Vanderbilt University have developed a learning environment for kids with autism, built around...
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Hydraulic fracturing Using scientific methods to evaluate trade-offs
In Colorado, drilling for oil and natural gas using hydraulic fracturing, sometimes referred to as fracking, is big business. But questions about its impact on the air and water are far from settled. With support from the National...
Science360
Wearable sensors to monitor triggers for asthma, and more
What if you could wear something that would alert you when pollution, such as smog, is about to take its toll on your heart or lungs? That is what's ""in the air"" at the National Science Foundation-(NSF) supported Nanosystems...
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Researchers aim to personalize breast cancer treatments
With support from the National Science Foundation, bioengineer Karen Burg and her colleagues at Clemson University are developing and demonstrating a new, integrative means of studying the complex behavior of cancer cells in breast...
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Breakthrough In Early Cancer Detection
There are only a few procedures that can detect very early signs of cancer. Those that do are often invasive, expensive and uncomfortable, leading to poor screening rates. With support from the National Science Foundation, Vadim Backman...
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Eliciting brain plasticity to keep the body moving
With support from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Emerging Frontiers of Research and Innovation (EFRI) program, bioengineer Gert Cauwenberghs, of the Jacobs School of Engineering and the Institute for Neural Computation at the...
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Engineers re-create tsunami debris impacts to measure their force
In a tsunami, devastation is created by far more than the wave itself. Debris that hits homes and other structures plays a huge role in a tsunami's destructive power. But until now, engineers could only estimate the forces at work when...
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Smart implants dissolve after healing
We all know that injuries happen and doctors sometimes have to use metal screws or plates to support broken bones while the bones heal. What if that implanted metal just disintegrated on its own after the injury heals? A team at the NSF...
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New Software Matches More Kidney Donations, Faster
Harvard economistAlvin Roth is a matchmaker but he's not finding love - he's finding kidneys! With support from the National Science Foundation, he and his team have developed a suite of computer programs that match living kidney donors...
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Engineering innovative seismic retrofits that don't break the bank
Researchers at the state-of-the-art Structural Engineering and Materials Laboratory at the Georgia Institute of Technology are using a full-scale model building to test new ways to protect structures from earthquakes and potentially save...
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On the road to resiliency Researchers map Hurricane Sandy impact in New York City
Hurricane Sandy was the deadliest of the 2012 hurricane season and is the second costliest hurricane in U.S. history! While many scientists will be studying ""Sandy"" for years to come, some researchers are focused instead on how to make...
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VetsPrevail helps veterans transition from war
With support from the National Science Foundation, former Navy pilot Rich Gengler, former Army sergeant Justin Savage and the team at Prevail Health Solutions have built and tested an online screening and counseling program called...
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Solar power to go
More energy from our sun hits the Earth in one hour than is consumed on the planet in a whole year! But, the burning question is - how can we put all that sunshine to work making usable fuel? With support from the National Science...
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Geo-Immersion Makes Maps Come Alive
Imagine a virtual computer simulation that reflects the world around you in real-time. Before you ever leave your home, a wealth of images and information about the world around you is at your finger-tips. Facial recognition might give...
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Community College Cybersecurity Program Trains 21st-Century Workforce
The stakes are high at Collegiate Cyber Defense Competitions (CCDC), where top-notch security professionals pose as computer hackers, who try to break into simulated business computer networks -- the kinds you'd find on Wall Street, in...
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Dropsondes - Work Horses In Hurricane Forecasting
Inside a cylinder that is about the size of a roll of paper towels lives a circuit board filled with sensors. It's called a dropsonde, or ""sonde"" for short. It's a work horse of hurricane forecasting, dropping out of ""Hurricane...
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Check out the assembly line of the future!
There's no shortage of ideas about how to use nanotechnology, but one of the major hurdles is how to manufacture some of the new products on a large scale. With support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), UMass Amherst chemical...
Science360
Cubelets Small Robots Teach Big Science Lessons
Cubelets are magnetic, electronic building blocks, each with a small computer inside, that can be connected in many different ways to move around a table, follow a hand signal, turn on a light, play sounds, or do many other creative...
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Helping the body regrow nerves
Combat, cancer and accidents - all can cause devastating nerve injuries. Sometimes, the body heals on its own. ""Your peripheral nerves, the ones in the arms and the face, have an inherent ability to regenerate, but only under ideal...
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Next generation robotic legs for when the going gets rough
One of the major challenges in robotics is designing robots that can move over uneven, loose or unexpected terrain. With support from the National Science Foundation, computer engineer Luther Palmer and his team at the Biomorphic...
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Higgs Boson Mysterious Particle Could Help Unlock Secrets Of The Universe
The search for a mysterious subatomic particle can certainly involve some enormous tools, not to mention a multitude of scientists. The effort to find the elusive ""Higgs boson"" includes over 5,800 scientists from 56 countries! The...
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Computer scientist sees new possibilities for ocular biometrics
While many of us rely on passwords to protect our identity, there's more sophisticated identity recognition technology called biometrics that we could use. Security measures that use biometrics rely on a person's unique characteristics...
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Improving Our Depth Perception in Augmented Reality
Sports fans have come to expect some of the extras they see on their TV screen, such as the yellow lines that appear on a football field to highlight where the ball needs to go for a first down. Similarly, NASCAR fans can find their...
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Osorb Absorbent Nanomaterial Cleans up Toxic Water
Science is full of surprises. Chemist Paul Edmiston's search for a new way to detect explosives at airports, instead, led to the creation of what's now called ""Osorb,"" swellable, organically-modified silica, or glass, capable of...