New Atlas

Science Audio available

Experimental device easily measures fluoride in drinking water

Ben Coxworth February 11, 2019

Although a certain amount of fluoride is added to municipal water supplies to help prevent tooth decay, too much can actually have the opposite effect – particularly on children. A new device could allow officials to detect those overly-high levels, cheaper and easier than ever before.

The SION-105 device can reportedly be used on-site, by people with little training

Robotics Audio available

Medical micro-robots automatically change shape to swim through the body

Michael Irving January 20, 2019

The human body is full of wildly different environments, so any robots exploring them need to be able to adapt on the fly. Now, researchers at EPFL and ETH Zurich have developed micro-robots that can automatically morph in response to their surroundings.

A new breed of medical micro-robots made to explore the human body can automatically adapt to ...

Robotics Audio available

Robotic fossil shows off the swagger of ancient animals

Michael Irving January 16, 2019

It can be hard to picture a living creature from dusty bones and old footprints, but now that might require a little less imagination. Researchers at EPFL and the Humboldt University of Berlin have built a robot to figure out just how a 300-million year-old ancestor of ours might have moved around.

The OroBOT is a robotic version of a 300-million-year-old animal called Orobates pabsti that was designed ...

Drones Audio available

Adaptable drone folds while flying to get through gaps

Ben Coxworth December 12, 2018

Although quadcopter drones show promise as a means of exploring hazardous environments, they do have one drawback – they're wide, limiting their ability to squeeze through tight spaces. An experimental new drone addresses that problem, by folding into different shapes while in flight.

The foldable drone takes on an H-shaped propeller arm configuration, allowing it to fit through narrow ...

Medical Audio available

Highly adhesive hydrogel sticks to the task of tissue regeneration

Nick Lavars November 22, 2018

Scientists in Switzerland have developed a new form of hydrogel they say has unparalleled adhesive properties, a characteristic that could prove particularly useful in trying to repair cartilage and meniscus.

Scientists in Switzerland have developed a new hydrogel that remains adhered to broken tissues for longer ...

VR

Light, thin VR gloves put wearers in touch with virtual objects

Michael Irving October 16, 2018

VR motion controllers work pretty well at syncing up the movements of digital digits with your real ones, but they aren’t all that good at recreating the sense of touch. Scientists from EPFL and ETH Zurich have developed new haptic gloves that could help users get in touch with virtual objects.

DextrES is a VR glove that provides haptic feedback to the wearer, making it feel like ...

Space Audio available

EPFL plan outlines how to build a Mars colony

David Szondy September 11, 2018

If you're going to set up a colony on Mars, it's a good idea to have a plan, and scientists from EPFL have put one together. The team's step-by-step strategy involves setting up a long-term manned outpost at one of the Martian poles that could later be expanded into a permanent colony.

The central part of the base that would form the foundations of a Mars colony is ...

Drones

Insect-inspired drone goes soft to avoid crash damage

Nick Lavars July 25, 2018

Drones are pretty adept at a number of things, including the ability to crash into stuff. Obstacle avoidance systems are one way to protect these fragile flying machines, but one team of researchers is pursuing a different path with a drone that collapses to prevent damage in the event of a crash.

Its creators say this new design overcomes some of the problems of their previous origami-inspired robots

Energy

Silicon-perovskite solar cell cracks new efficiency record

Michael Irving June 11, 2018

Silicon is fast approaching its theoretical limit for solar efficiency, but pairing it up with other materials could help break through. Researchers have developed a new technique for combining silicon and perovskite solar cells, and reported a new record efficiency of 25.2 percent.

The pyramid shapes of silicon's surface structure is clear in this microscope image

Medical

Blocking anti-aging enzymes makes cancer die of old age

Michael Irving May 17, 2018

The mechanism that limits a cell’s lifespan can be slowed down, but that can turn them cancerous, as they divide unchecked. Now, scientists at EPFL have found a way to manipulate that mechanism to effectively turn off cancer’s immortality, letting it die slowly and naturally.

Cancer hijacks a natural anti-aging enzyme to make itself immortal, and now scientists have found a ...