UC Santa Barbara

A new jumping robot, designed to have a huge spring-to-motor ratio

Robotics

Springy robot jumps higher than any other robot or animal

If you say “jump” I say “how high?” – and a new robot from UC Santa Barbara says “over 100 ft.” The researchers say that’s higher than anything else has ever jumped, be it robot or animal, thanks to a unique design that multiplies its stored energy.

A new smartphone-based COVID-19 detection system can deliver results in less than half an hour and is as accurate as PCR testing

Medical

Cheap, quick, smartphone-based COVID testing kit as accurate as PCR

US researchers have developed an innovative smartphone-based kit that can test saliva samples for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza viruses. Early studies have found the cheap system is as accurate as current lab-based testing and much faster.

The isoperimetric robot can be attached to others to form more capable machines, connecting via three-degrees-of-freedom joints that create truss-like structures

Robotics

Shape-changing inflatable robot can nab objects and roam on its own

Scientists at Stanford University and University of California, Santa Barbara have put forward a particularly interesting soft robot design, showing off an inflatable machine that can change shape and roll in controllable directions while untethered.

Researches may have found a way to make phage treatment more viable

Medical

Controlled phage therapy hints at future alternative to antibiotics

Phages, viruses that thrive by infecting bacteria, have long been mooted as a potential replacement for antibiotics, but they pose risks due to their own rapid evolution. New research suggests it may be possible to mitigate their risks.

It is suggested that the system could be used to tell if a person hiding in a house was actually a bank robber, who was earlier recorded by a bank's security cameras

Science

Wi-Fi identifies people through walls – by their walk

Utilizing a new technique, ordinary wall-penetrating Wi-Fi signals could reportedly now be used to identify a person within a house.

Tropical tectonic activity, such as that occurring in Indonesia today, may have triggered ice ages in the past

Environment

Can tropical tectonic activity trigger ice ages?

Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is a major driver of shifts in the Earth’s climate, and in the past too little CO2 has been associated with triggering ice ages. Now a team of scientists has found a surprising new mechanism that could lead to ice ages: Tropical tectonic activity.

The method is accurate to within two people

Science

Researchers show they can count people through walls using only Wi-Fi

In what may be seen as a worrying development to those troubled by the growth of the surveillance state, researchers at the University of California have demonstrated that they can count people through walls using only Wi-Fi signals.

The app, named Bacticount, is available for free from the Google Play Store

Medical

$100 smartphone kit can ID pathogens in under an hour

American scientists have developed a smartphone app that can identify types of bacteria in one hour, down from a typical turnaround of 18 to 28 hours. The reduced detection time should mean faster diagnosis, treatment and recovery for patients, as well as reduced costs.

People could soon know if great white sharks are in the area, by testing the water for their cast-off DNA

Biology

Great whites may be given up by their DNA

Animals regularly cast off bits of their DNA into aquatic environments. Known as environmental DNA (eDNA), it can be detected in water samples, letting scientists know if a species is present in the region. Soon, it could be used to warn beachgoers of nearby great white sharks.