Ilima Loomis

All Stories by Ilima Loomis

  1. Animals

    Cool Jobs: Poop investigators

    Far from just being waste, poop is loaded with clues to the health, biology and behavior of whatever body produced it.

  2. Agriculture

    Get ready to eat differently in a warmer world

    Climate change is affecting what we eat, from making crops less productive to making foods less nutritious. Scientists are studying how farmers can adapt.

  3. Science & Society

    Could climate change worsen global conflict?

    Famine, natural disasters and sea-level rise can all disrupt societies. These can add pressure to unstable regions — sometimes to the point of prompting wars.

  4. Materials Science

    This bandage uses electrical zaps to heal wounds faster

    Scientists have invented a bandage that helps wounds heal faster by zapping them with electricity. The patient’s own motions power this device.

  5. Tech

    Super-water-repellent surfaces can generate energy

    Scientists knew they could get power by running salt water over an electrically charged surface. But making that surface super-water-repellent boosts that energy production, new data show.

  6. Tech

    Tarzan the robot was actually inspired by a sloth

    ‘Tarzan’ the robot saves energy by swinging. Someday, it could help with farm work by moving along wires strung across fields of crops.

  7. Materials Science

    Light-sensitive ‘ink’ gives 4-D printing more wiggle room

    Many 4-D-printed objects can flex and change their shape. A new “ink” and printing method now gives them greater range of motion.

  8. Health & Medicine

    Sleep helps wounds heal faster

    Getting enough sleep may be more important for helping wounds heal than getting good nutrition, a new study finds.

  9. Materials Science

    Hairy nanoparticles put viruses in a deadly embrace

    Current drugs can’t stop viruses for good. But newly developed hairy nanoparticles just might. They surround and put pressure on the viruses, which ultimately destroys them.

  10. Space

    Preparing for that trip to Mars

    These scientists are working to make a human mission to Mars a reality.

  11. Tech

    This hydropower harnesses energy one water drop at a time

    A single drop of water sliding across a surface can light up 15 LEDs. This charging by friction is due to what’s known as the triboelectric effect.

  12. Tech

    Magnetic heating may replace surgery to cure some infections

    Scientists are testing magnetic fields as a way to kill bacteria that drugs normally cannot reach — such as those on medical implants inside the body.