Wired.uk reports that “Nasa turns to geckos for ‘ultimate stickiness’ climbing space robots.” And why wouldn’t they?!
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Reef recordings
Fascinating approach to underwater wildlife monitoring, detailed in Popular Science: “One study published in Marine Ecology Progress Series found that a single low-frequency recorder might be enough to monitor the populations of fish and other aquatic life living on a reef. The small instrument could be deployed at reefs all over the world, recording information […]
Sobering News
This is a disturbing report.
Elizabeth Agee Manuscript Prize
“Animal, Vegetable, Digital” has won the Elizabeth Agee Manuscript Prize from the University of Alabama Press! “Awarded annually to the manuscript chosen as representing outstanding scholarship in the field of American literary studies, the Elizabeth Agee Prize was established in honor of a longtime Birmingham bookseller who described herself as “a reader and lover of […]
Biotic Games
Grushkin, Daniel. “A Gaming System Starring…Microbes.” Popular Science June 2014: 65. Print. A Stanford University bioengineer named Ingmar Riedel-Kruse has completely remodeled ’80s video games. In his own “biotic games,” real paramecia are guided by players using electric fields. For it to work, he used a biotic processor to correspond a paramecium-filled fluid chamber with a hand […]
Luring Techniques of Carnivorous Plants
Stromberg, Joseph. “Deadly Glow.” Smithsonian January 2014: 16. Print. Researchers at Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute have discovered an aspect of carnivorous plants that attracts insects to their inevitable death. Immersing a pitcher plant in ultraviolet light, the team discovered that the lip of the plant glowed blue. Insects, who can see this […]
Plastic-Eating Fungus
Woollacott, Emma. “Plastic-Eating Fungus Could Help Deal with Landfill.” Tech Guru Daily. TG Daily, 6 Feb. 2012. Web. 28 Sept. 2014. http://www.tgdaily.com/sustainability-features/61260-plastic-eating-fungus-could-help-deal-with-landfill Within a South American rain forest, researchers from Yale University discovered a fungus that lives off plastic materials. Specifically found in Ecuador, it’s called pestalotiopsis microspora, and it breaks down polyurethane all on its own. The Yale […]
Man-Made Biological Leaves
Hobson, Ben. “The ‘First Man-Made Biological leaf’ Could Enable Humans to Colonise Space.” Dezeen. Dezeen, 25 July 2014. Web. 28 Sept. 2014. http://www.dezeen.com/2014/07/25/movie-silk-leaf-first-man-made-synthetic-biological-leaf-space-travel/ Julian Melchiorri, a graduate of London’s Royal College of Art, has developed what he calls “the first man-made biological leaf.” As a synthetic plant, the leaf produces oxygen through its absorption of water and carbon […]
Origami in Space
Lufkin, Bryan. “Origami in Space.” Wired May 2014: 41. Print. Brigham Young doctoral student, Shannon Zirbel is applying the concept of origami to engineering. Using “compliant mechanism design,” she is working on a prototype so promising that even NASA has caught interest. The concept involves making small, wrapped-up objects designed to unfold later when needed. For example, folded bundles of […]
Prickly Painkillers
Weintraub, Arlene. “Prickly Painkiller.” Scientific American July 2013: 14. Print. Weintraub’s article divulges experimental research that could possibly cure inflammatory pain permanently. Using a toxin derived from cactus-like plants called resiniferatoxin (RTX), the compound would require a single injection to be effective. It works by killing neurons that convey inflammatory pain and interfering with the brain’s […]