WEIRD SCIENCE
By Michael Irving – – The new Stuntronics robot from Disney Research can perform autonomous acrobatics in midair before sticking the landing. (Credit: Disney). Disney’s animatronics are coming a long way from drunken pirates waving flagons of ale or hippos that wiggle their ears. …
By Danny Paez – Neuroengineers have created a new system that can translate simple thoughts into recognizable speech, using artificial intelligence and a speech synthesizer, according to a study published recently. A team of New York-based researchers was able to reconstruct words …
By Darren Quick – Wing has been granted Air Carrier Certification by the FAA. (Credit: Wing Inc.). A month after Wing was given the green light to deliver various goods via drone in Australia’s capital, Canberra, the Alphabet subsidiary has become the first …
By David Szondy – The VEM extinguisher is designed for use on spacecraft and other special environments. (Credit: Valeev/Depositphotos). The Department of Mechanical Engineering at Toyohashi University of Technology has developed an inside-out fire extinguisher for use inside spacecraft. Instead of spraying out …
When the body’s clocks go out of sync, a well-timed fast might set them back on track. By Emma Betuel – Each of the trillions of cells in our bodies has a tiny internal clock. When all of those clocks are synchronized, …
By Michael Irving – Two new studies have examined the role of radiation and tidal forces in the TRAPPIST-1 planetary system. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech). TRAPPIST-1 is one of the most fascinating planetary systems discovered so far. Located just 40 light-years away, seven roughly Earth-sized planets are …
By Rich Haridy – Ten SpotMini bots have been shown to have the strength to pull a small truck. (Credit: Boston Dynamics). In classic Boston Dynamics style, the company’s latest announcement that its SpotMini is off the production line and ready to hit …
By Ben Coxworth – The Tris Bike’s front wheels tilt up to 30 degrees relative to the frame. While some people like the added stability offered by trikes as compared to bikes, the things can actually be tippier when cornering. The Italian-designed Tris …
By News Staff / Source – A careful statistical examination of words from 6,000+ languages shows that humans tend to use the same sounds for common objects and ideas, no matter what language they’re speaking. Geographic distribution of the 6,452 word lists analyzed …
By Nick Lavars – Canadian Space Agency astronaut David Saint-Jacques inside the Harmony module aboard the ISS last month. (Credit: NASA). Knowing the make up the microbial community on the International Space Station (ISS) would be of huge use to space agencies trying …
