Shrinking to the Nanoscale

Discover how a team of MIT researchers have taken cues from “Honey I shrunk the Kids” and made it real. Shrinking to Nano 3D printing in the nanoscale has been a challenge for researchers around the world. While we have a desire to fabricate parts smaller and smaller, our abilities …

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Bringing Star Trek to Earth: Ion Thrusters and Airplanes

MIT ion thrusters featured

‘Anti-gravity’ ion thrusters can power a tiny plane. When we think of getting on an airplane we think of the constant hum of the engines running. Even other vehicles that fly, such as drones, or helicopters, rely on the whirl of a motor and the drip of fuel. This is …

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Dinosaur eggs in your backyard

Dinosaur eggs in your backyard - howpigments tell a story of evolution featured

THE DESCENDANTS OF DINOSAURS LIVE ON. We have known for a long time that thousands upon thousands of dinosaurs still roam the Earth: birds. While we can look at the pterodactyl and other avian dinosaurs and see the direct resemblance of this prehistoric period flying in our skies, there is another …

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A 3D printed Cornea

For many, the ability to see is taken for granted. That ability to see relies on healthy eyes with healthy lenses. Our eyes contain two lenses, the cornea, and the lens. The cornea is, what some would call, the window to our souls. The cornea allows light to enter our eyes …

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Yep, Uranus smells like farts

In a scientific discovery that is sure to delight elementary and middle school kids for ages, we have just learned that Uranus does, in fact, smell awful. To be precise, it smells like a whole bunch of rotten egg farts. Who are we kidding, this new discovery won’t just delight school …

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Space Lasers | Imaging with Light

Our internet has gone from non-existent, to modems the size of VCRs playing horrible noises, to minuscule devices that can download and transmit huge amounts of information in a heartbeat (literally). The internet tools, as we know them, allow us to send school photos to Grandma, email entire PhD thesis, …

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This is random

peter bierhorst NIST quantum entanglement random number generation

Researchers believe that have finally cracked the code when it comes to making a random number generator. Randomness is important in everyday life. Things such as polls to determine how a large population feels about a topic (for example, a Presidential race), can be done with a random sample of …

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Recycling CO2 to make Ethanol

Synthetic Photosynthesis would recycle carbon dioxide while creating ethanol

Carbon dioxide is a pesky gas that is building up in our atmosphere from burning too many fossil fuels. About 10-25% of the greenhouse effect is due to carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. Carbon Dioxide and the Greenhouse Effect. Life on Earth relies on a delicate balance of heat from …

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Mission to Mars: Astronaut Brains

Astronaut_moon_rock

While the world is preparing for a long-term space mission to Mars, one thing has scientists thinking. Astronaut’s brains. Experiencing micro-gravity changes a lot of things in our bodies. From the shape of our eyes to our ability to do small motor tasks, our Mission to Mars relies on our ability …

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