Studying pregnancy from multiple disciplines could provide new insights.
Carol Yepes/Moment via Getty Images
How and why preterm birth happens is still unclear, in part because research on pregnancy tends to focus on developmental biology.
3D printing can be used to build with all kinds of materials – even those that go ‘boom.’
kynny/iStock via Getty Images
‘Energetic’ materials are ones that readily ignite or detonate. The shapes of those materials have a big effect on how they burn or blow up.
How much would these robo-boots be worth to you?
Neurobionic Lab/University of Michigan Robotics Department
Asking users the dollar value of the costs and benefits of walking in exoskeletons is a better way of finding out how users feel about them than measuring calories saved.
You don’t need to watch where you step when it comes to bacteria.
Westend61/Getty Images
You can squash small bugs by stepping on them, but can you crush even tinier microorganisms like viruses and bacteria? It turns out that you’d need to apply a lot of pressure.
Researchers are increasingly using small, autonomous underwater robots to collect data in the world’s oceans.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Program,NOAA Ship PISCES
Dramatic improvements in computing, sensors and submersible engineering are making it possible for researchers to ramp up data collection from the oceans while also keeping people out of harm’s way.
The knife easily leaves swirls in the spread.
rimglow/iStock via Getty Images Plus
A mechanical engineer explains why you need to go with the flow. The TSA pronouncement that peanut butter is a liquid is scientifically sound.
This connection of springs is a new type of material that can change shape and learn new properties.
Jonathan Hopkins
Computer-based neural networks can learn to do tasks. A new type of material, called a mechanical neural network, applies similar ideas to a physical structure.
Brain folding typically begins at the end of the.
second trimester of pregnancy and continues after birth.
Hiroshi Watanabe/DigitalVision via Getty Images
Understanding how brain folding works could help researchers better diagnose and treat neurodevelopmental disorders.
Tahira Reid Smith (left) works with colleagues using an infrared microscope to study how heat affects hair.
Mark Simons/Purdue University
A mechanical engineer brings her personal experiences to address human-centered problems and encourage ‘compassionate design.’
These beautiful curves hold the key to a simple way to vary the stiffness of robotic grippers.
njekaterina/DigitalVision via Getty Images
Curved origami isn’t just elegant art. It’s also a versatile way to vary the amount of force applied by robots and other machines.
Leonardo da Vinci’s anatomical drawings and mechanical designs reveal his fascination with engineering, motion, anatomy and ageing.
Google Art Project, via Wikimedia Commons.
Leonardo’s interest in the human form and replicating human bodily movement foreshadow ideas present in modern robotics.
Latching springs provide a boost.
Yun Seong Song et al (2017)
For those with reduced mobility and even just the normally aging, stairs can pose a big problem. A cheap and efficient new prototype could help.
How can this robot know where to move safely, and where it will collide with something else?
Humanrobo
Using a technique inspired by how human brains operate, researchers have found a way to help robots move more smoothly and more quickly.
Flock/Bloodhound
One of the engineers behind Bloodhound, the UK’s anticipated world land speed record attempt, explains how they created a car to reach 1000mph.
Observing the foreflipper clap.
Megan Leftwich
The way sea lions swim is unique among fish and marine mammals. Their technique provides a biomechanical model to design agile underwater vehicles… but first we have to figure out how they do it.