Science

Given that not everyone has the same tolerance for hot chilis, it would be good if there were a simple, portable means of objectively assessing how hot they are. Well, scientists have developed just such a gadget – and it plugs into a smartphone.

Typically, motion capture systems are confined to one studio containing multiple cameras, and they require subjects to wear sensor-equipped body suits. A new setup, however, is based around a single chest-mounted camera.

The cutting-edge polar research ship the RRS Sir David Attenborough – otherwise known as "Boaty McBoatface" – has finally set sail from its shipyard. It will now be put through trials before being officially handed over for service later this year.

Researchers have developed a new white paint that can reflect over 95 percent of sunlight, which can cool the surface even lower than the ambient temperature. Painted on a building, the new paint could help cut cooling costs and energy use.

As a storage solution for renewable energy, scientists see great potential in what are known as redox flow batteries. A new design from Linköping University is a decidedly green version of this, being the first made from all-natural materials.

In summer months sunlight comes with an unwanted side order of heat. Now, researchers have developed windows that can change color automatically when heated by sunlight, to keep buildings cool – and to top it off, they’re solar panels as well.

A new research project at the University of Twente could be of great use to anti-poaching efforts, by mixing motion sensors with machine learning to recognize when wildlife is responding to a nearby threat.

The face of the Earth has changed drastically over its life, with plates shifting and sinking. Now geologists claim to have found the remains of an ancient tectonic plate beneath Canada, which was pushed under the surface millions of years ago.

In a truly remarkable feat of engineering, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has scooped a sample of soil from the surface of asteroid Bennu, as it hurtles through space some 205 million miles from Earth.

Chemotherapy remains one of our best treatments against cancer but, frustratingly, cancer cells can develop resistance to these drugs. Now, researchers have found that calcium can weaken their defense mechanism, making drugs effective once more.

Scientists in Australia have happened upon a solution to one of the key instability issues facing perovskite solar technology, finding that doses of high-intensity light can be used to avoid deformations that plague the performance of the cell.

A team of researchers has made a surprising new discovery, finding a pair of previously unknown salivary glands. Nestled deep in the back of the nasopharynx, the discovery may help prevent damaging side effects from head and neck cancer radiotherapy.