Short Look at the Long View

MIT's Improbable Artificial Intelligence Lab has developed a Dexterous Ball Manipulation with a Legged Robot (DribbleBot) that can dribble a soccer ball under real-world conditions similar to those encountered by a human player.

Having already rolled out the world's first ammonia-fueled tractor and the world's first ammonia-fueled semi truck, Brooklyn company Amogy has now got hold of a 1957 tugboat, and plans to have the world's first ammonia-powered ship sailing this year.

A five-year trial in Iceland exploring the effects of a shorter working week is reporting positive outcomes. The results suggest cutting just four or five hours from a work week can lead to increases in worker well-being and improvements in productivity.

An international team of scientists eyeing next-generation energy storage solutions have demonstrated an eco-friendly and low-cost battery with some exciting potential, which includes a fourfold increase on energy capacity over lithium-ion batteries.

In a presentation long on stagecraft and short on hard facts, Northrop Grumman has revealed the US Air Force's long-anticipated B-21 Raider stealth nuclear strategic bomber, which will replace all other heavy bombers in the American inventory.

A future-focused ship designed as the world's first all-electric, autonomous cargo vessel has debuted in Norway, where it is intended to replace 40,000 diesel-powered truck journeys every year and significantly reduce NOx and CO2 emissions.

Electricity-generating rooftop solar cells can save a significant amount of water. In some states, individual household water saving can reach up to 1,000%.

Although Waygu beef is renowned for its rich marbling, it does still come from slaughtered cattle – a fact that doesn't sit well with many people. Steakholder Foods is developing an alternative, in the form of its 3D-printed Omakase Beef Morsels.

BP and Chevron have led a US$40 million investment round for a Canadian startup that claims to have developed a unique way to extract energy from geothermal heat on demand, using an unpowered looping fluid design that's already prototyped in Alberta.

Researchers have found that adding a booster protein can significantly improve the outcome of cancer immunotherapy. Tests in mice showed the protein produced 10,000 times more cancer-targeting immune cells, with all mice surviving the experiment.

Engineers at MIT have developed a modular computer chip with components that can communicate using flashes of light. This could allow for electronics that can easily be upgraded with new sensors or processors, rather than replacing the whole chip.

A new design for a solar-powered desalination device prevents the build-up of salt, making for an efficient and affordable system. Just four dollars' worth of materials should be enough for a device that can provide a family's daily drinking water.

Millipedes are frauds – despite their name being Latin for “thousand legs,” they usually only have a few hundred. But a newly discovered species is the first to earn its name with well over 1,000 legs, far more than any other creature on the planet.

Wouldn't it be nice if medication could be injected without using a painful needle, and if that medication could be stored at room temperature? Well, it turns out that MOF-Jet technology may make both things possible.

Terran 1 was supposed to launch Wednesday, but Relativity Space ended up scrubbing after it exceeded Stage 2’s launch commit ...

Microplastics are a growing environmental problem, but now researchers in Korea have developed a new water purification system that can filter out these tiny fragments, as well as other pollutants, very quickly and with high efficiency.

An international team of scientists eyeing next-generation energy storage solutions have demonstrated an eco-friendly and low-cost battery with some exciting potential, which includes a fourfold increase on energy capacity over lithium-ion batteries.

Floating wind turbines are crucial to the future of offshore wind, but they require radically different thinking. French company Eolink is building a full-scale pyramid-style floating wind turbine that reduces materials and weight by more than 30%.

Researchers tracking emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants have started noticing something strange. Different subvariants seem to be accumulating the same mutations in a sign of convergent evolution but what does this mean for the future of the pandemic?

When it comes to keeping mosquitoes from spreading malaria, some approaches involve killing the insects, or stopping them from acquiring malaria parasites. A new method, however, stunts the growth of the parasites once they're in the mosquito's gut.

Researchers at Spain's Polytechnic University of Valencia have developed "Lego-like" segments of 3D-printed plastic that can be pieced together as a lightweight alternative to reinforced concrete beams.

Researchers have demonstrated a new technique for helping heart cells regenerate after a heart attack, using mRNA to return the cells to a stem-cell-like state. Tests in mice showed drastic improvements to heart function a month after a heart attack.

This treatment has the potential to increase the amount of universal donor organs from 55 percent to 80 percent. ...