TECH & INNOVATION

Are You a Whiz At Cad? NASA Offers $2.25 Million Prize for Best Space Habitat Design

TECH & INNOVATION NASA and the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute, known as America Makes, are hoping that additive construction innovators will design a deep space exploration habitat and then fabricate it in a new competition worth US $1.1 million for each of two winners. Phase One registration opened at the Bay Area Maker Faire on Saturday, and the second stage begins September 27.

The Future of Home-Brewed Medicines and How Researchers Are Pushing Past Original Elixirs

Humans have always sought ways to alter their consciousness. Throughout our history as a species we have created and improved techniques for growing, brewing, processing, and, now, synthesizing mind-altering substances. Now, researchers from Concordia University in Quebec and University of California, Berkeley have detailed the steps needed to morphine from scratch from a simple yeast fungus.

How the ISS Plans on Getting Rid of Space Debris—Plans to Vaporize Comets in Space

Fans of shoot-em-up sci fi everywhere will be thrilled with the latest proposal for freeing the International Space Station (ISS) from the need to repeatedly alter its trajectory to avoid crashing into space junk. Researchers from the Riken Computational Astrophysics Laboratory of Japan want to use a laser system to zap dangerous space debris on a collision course with the ISS.

#DressGate Continues-What Researchers Are Saying About the Social Media Phenom

We know, you thought the whole The Dress thing was over-and you were glad. But rather than being a simple Internet meme on the scale of dancing babies and funny cats, The Dress is helping neuroscientists understand the way that the human brain perceives and thinks. Three research papers discussion cognition and perception in light of The Dress have just been published in Current Biology.

Drug Testing for Cocaine Gets Personal

Outwitting a drug test just got harder. Instead of relying on blood or urine, which can be switched, researchers at the University of Surrey have devised a technique that uses fingerprints to test for cocaine. And it not only tests whether a person has handled the drug; this new technique confirms cocaine actually entered the body.

Look Out, Master Locks: The Combo Breaker Has Arrived

Recent news from the hacking world reveals a new device that can solve the combination of Master Locks in under five minutes. And if that's not fast enough for a clean getaway, there's a speedier technique that will crack the code in under thirty seconds.

Universities Are Arguing Over Genome Editing Technology, But What Does The Law Have to Say About It?

Three major universities are now engaged in a patent lawsuit to protect their rights to use genome editing technology called CRISPR-Cas9. The fallout will have far more impact than the simple settling of ownership and intellectual property rights, however; experts believe that CRISPR-Cas9 may be the most efficient route toward a ticking off items on a laundry list of amazing biotechnological discoveries.

Octopus Arm Inspires Future Surgical Tool

A group of scientists in Italy have taken their inspiration from the octopus, creating a robotic arm that can bend, squeeze, and stretch through even cluttered environments. The device was created specifically for surgeons who need to access confined or remote areas of the body more easily.

The Selfie That Goes Beyond Skin Deep

In our increasingly more narcissistic selfie culture, sometimes the right selfie can deliver a powerful message in an unparalleled way. One woman with skin cancer is trying to use social media to change this part of our American tanning habit by sharing a selfie of her face, blistered and scabbed from skin cancer treatments.

A New Form of College Rivalry: Genetic Engineering Patents

College rivalries are nothing new. Some even reach legendary proportions. USC vs. Notre Dame, Alabama vs. Auburn, Army vs. Navy. They make for great football. Not so much when it comes to technological rights, as we're discovering in the ongoing battle between UC Berkeley and MIT, as they wrestle over the patent for a machine that just might revolutionize genetic engineering.

‘Brainy’ Robots May Revolutionize Underwater Exploration

Exiting news out of MIT: underwater robots just got smarter. Inspired by Star Trek's Enterprise, the folks at MIT have developed a new program that gives AUVs (autonomous underwater vehicles) greater decision-making capabilities.

Man Versus Machine: Who Won Supreme In Record-Breaking Poker Match?

In the ultimate poker match between man and machine, man won-at least for this round. In a two-week competition that just ended, four top ten players of Heads-up No-limit Texas Hold'em took on Claudico, an artificial intelligence program created by a Carnegie Mellon University team and won more chips than they lost.

Uber Hopes to Bank on Purchase of Nokia’s Here Mapping Tools

Standing on the threshold of being one of the highest-valued private startups of all time, the app-driven taxi service, Uber, is now positioning to purchase Nokia's Here mapping business, with whispers of a bid approaching $3 billion.

JPL Tech In Space And On Ground Helps Save Lives After Disaster

Technology from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) helped search-and-rescue teams find and save four men buried in rubble following the Nepal Earthquake. FINDER, a device no larger than a carry-on suitcase weighing less than 20 pounds, detected the heartbeats of the victims through 10 feet of wood, mud, and brick.

Spiders Sprayed with Graphene Weave Futuristic Webs

One of the most amazing materials in nature has got to be spider silk. Although thinner than a human hair, it is stronger by weight than steel, can be stretched up to four times its original length, and is about as durable as Kevlar - of bullet proof vest fame. Yet Italian scientists have recently improved on Mother Nature by applying the latest in nanomaterials technology to those notorious web spinners. Introducing the graphene spiders.
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