All Stories by Sid Perkins
- Materials Science
Silk can be molded into strong medical implants
Freeze-dried and powdered silk has a long shelf life. It also is cheap to ship and can be molded into sturdy medical implants.
- Fossils
Small T. rex ‘cousins’ may actually have been growing teens
Dinosaurs once thought to be mini cousins of Tyrannosaurus rex may have been merely adolescent members of the famous species, a new study suggests.
- Physics
Tests challenge whether centuries-old violins really are the best ever
Some centuries-old Italian violins are reputed to be the best ever made. Scientists tested that. Their data now show new instruments can sound at least as good — and sometimes better.
- Tech
Weird little fish inspires the development of super-grippers
Suction-cup designers were inspired by the rock-grabbing tricks of the aptly named clingfish.
- Physics
Fireworks shower the skies with science
Filling the night sky with fireworks requires the help of chemists, electrical engineers and people who can choreograph theatrical shows.
- Materials Science
Analyze This: Do exotic woods make better guitars?
When comparing the sound of guitars made from rare and costly woods to those made with common, cheaper alternatives, guitarists couldn’t tell much of a difference.
- Physics
Heat signatures help track down old and still deadly land mines
A new technique for locating land mines uses infrared cameras on drones. The novel technology uses temperature differences to find camouflaged mines before anyone might accidentally step on them.
- Earth
Earth’s permafrost is heating up
Climate change is warming Earth’s permafrost — and in some places thawing it. This could lead to massive releases of planet-warming greenhouse gases.
- Earth
ICESat-2 measures ice and more from space
ICESat-2, launched in September 2018, will detect changes in Earth’s ice sheets and glaciers. It also will monitor our planet’s forests and clear shallow waters.
- Earth
The odd ways that weather can unfold in a warming world
New analyses describe how global and regional weather may unfold in the coming decades as people release more planet-warming greenhouse gases.
- Environment
People are changing which parts of Earth get more (or less) water
Human activities have been reshaping the planet’s water map. Some changes created new lakes. Others caused lakes to disappear.
- Earth
Robots and ‘green energy’ win the day at Intel ISEF
The top three awards — each worth $50,000 to $75,000 — went for a window-washing robot, low-cost big batteries and ‘green’ capacitors
