WEIRD SCIENCE
By Michael Irving – – – A new system of “particle robots” can swarm together to achieve things that individual units can’t alone. (Credit: Felice Frankel). Most robots are usually made to do one particular job, so they’re not very adaptable to new situations. But …
By Rich Haridy – – – Marijuana with THC levels above 10 percent has been associated with greater incidences of psychotic episodes. (Credit: JanMika/Depositphotos). A major new study examining the association between potent marijuana, frequency of use and rates of psychosis has confidently …
By Rich Haridy – A new hypothesis suggests as we grow old our brains process less images at a slower pace, and it is this that speeds up our sense of time passing. (Credit: lightsource/Depositphotos), The subjective sense that time moves faster as …
By Ben Coxworth – – The MetaFly can be flown both indoors and outdoors (if the winds aren’t too strong). Five years ago, French aeronautical engineer Edwin Van Ruymbeke successfully crowdfunded his Bionic Bird – it’s a remote-control model that flies by flapping …
By Michael Irving – – Harvard researchers have uncovered the chemical chain reaction that links a lack of sleep to cardiovascular disease. (Credit: suriyaphoto/Depositphotos). Responsible for a staggering 31 percent of all deaths worldwide, cardiovascular disease is the number one killer in the …
By Michael Irving – – Physicists have measured how long it takes particles to quantum tunnel through barriers, and found it to be effectively instantaneous. (Credit: fredmantel/Depositphotos). If you throw a ball at a wall, it’s going to bounce back at you – …
By Ben Coxworth – – Researchers study the eggshell material, with some help from a scanning electron microscope. (Credit: Daniel Messling, HIU/KIT). They’ve been used as a rubber additive, a carbon-capture medium and a bioplastic ingredient. Now, discarded eggshells may have yet another use. …
By Michael Irving – Researchers have found a new way to study the genes that bacteria swap to give each other new skills. (Credit: wasja/Depositphotos). The smallest creatures can have some of the biggest impacts on the planet. You can get a sense of …
Scientists can now turn CO2 in the air into solid coal. Scientists have created a method to convert carbon dioxide back into solid coal, a breakthrough that could change the ways carbon is removed from the atmosphere and permanently stored. “While we can’t …
Clear skies ahead — and that’s not a good thing. By Yasmin Tayag – Here is a small sampling of the many things climate change has already ruined: Greenland, human mental health, and the very cute bramble cay. Now, as scientists predict in …
