Farmers around the world face serious challenges in growing food more effectively. Climate warming increases the risk of crop damage from insects, fungi, and bacteria. So to manage the threat farms are turning to artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and computer vision to target pests more effectively.
Coronavirus and the pandemic have made people hyper-aware of reducing their exposure to infection indoors by wearing masks, ventilating rooms, and social distancing. But a new way of using ultraviolet light to kill microbes could rapidly reduce virus particles in public spaces and help prevent future disease outbreaks.
Polar heatwaves in the Arctic and Antarctic have climate scientists concerned about the possibility of rapid climate breakdown. Soaring seasonal temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius above normal in Antarctica and more than 20 Celsius in the Arctic could be a sign of cataclysmic shifts in both regions.
Waste heat is a worldwide energy problem most people have probably never heard about. Every machine and power station, even renewable energy like wind and solar, creates heat that is simply lost in the atmosphere. Thankfully, scientists and engineers are devoted to capturing heat and transforming it into useful electricity.
Robots have always imitated life. Social androids powered by artificial intelligence have now reached a level where they may be ready to work in shops, airports, and care homes. But an entirely new class of robots is being developed that can grow, evolve, and even reproduce.
Products made from carbon dioxide (CO2) captured from the atmosphere are part of a fast-growing trend to decarbonize nearly everything we use. Food, drink, fuel, and plastics can all be made using CO2 from the air. And recycling carbon could create a circular economy that vastly reduces pollution and waste.
Thanks to a complex internal structure, lizards can shed a tail in a pinch… yet keep their tails attached when they need them.
California’s coastal kelp forests could be making a welcome revival. Drone images show seaweed beds recovering along the north coast in Mendocino and Sonoma counties.
After the U.S. man received the first successful transplant of its kind, a Maryland hospital reported his death today.
Earth’s glaciers are both a precious resource and a fragile ecosystem that is disappearing quickly due to global warming. Scientists warn that glaciers will vanish from the mainland US within decades. And their rapid melting is dangerous to society and the natural systems we rely on.
Sensory loss has a profound effect on millions of people’s everyday lives. Sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste can all be affected, diminishing their experience of the world. But now, thanks to neuroprosthetic technology we can tap into nerve and brain function, and rewire these lost connections.
Airships seem like technology from a bygone era. But when a group of British scientists took to the skies above Florida in a Skyship 600, it could have been as champions of a new age in lighter-than-air transport. Drifting among the clouds, it showed there was a place for airships in the 21st century.
A new experiment suggests these household fish actually make good drivers.
Having a “net-zero future” – where the world isn’t emitting excess carbon dioxide – can seem like a far-off pipe dream.With sea levels still rising, wildfires becoming more and more frequent – alongside other extreme weather like floods and storms – and biodiversity rapidly dwindling, it’s imperative we focus on expanding renewable energy across the world, increasing energy sources to help mitigate the impact that fossil fuels have on the climate.
Scientists hope the ‘very rare’ finding will fill in research gaps about the elusive species.