University of California

Robotics Audio available

Robotic arm taste tests its own bathwater for dangerous chemicals

Nick Lavars June 26, 2019

​We’ve seen robots that can respond to touch and voice commands, but what about a robot with a sense of taste? A new experimental device is built to explore this possibility, and in its current form can already perform a little taste test to see if its bathwater has been contaminated.​​

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Medical

Brain activity monitoring reveals a potential biomarker for depression

Nick Lavars November 8, 2018

New research has added to our understanding of depression by highlighting how certain brain activity may be linked to certain moods, raising the prospect of a biological signature that could one day be used as an indicator of the illness and help those devising new therapies to treat it.

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Medical

Fish skin bandages heal badly burned bears

David Szondy January 26, 2018

The recent wildfires in California have taken a terrible toll, but it isn't just people who suffered. Two adult female black bears were caught in the conflagration and suffered third degree burns on their paws, which were treated using innovative new, edible bandages made out of fish skins.

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Physics

Scientists discover "angel particle" that is its own antiparticle

Michael Irving July 20, 2017

Every particle has an antiparticle, which has the opposite charge. But it’s long been theorized that there’s an exception to the rule, with certain particles that are actually their own antiparticles. Now, scientists have found the first strong evidence for what they dub the “angel particle.”

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Robotics

Swarms of robotic plankton ride underwater waves of survival

Nick Lavars January 25, 2017

​​We know that plankton are too small to swim on their own, so how do these little drifters get to where they need to go? Seeking answers to this question along with other insights about our oceans, scientists have built underwater robots that mimic plankton behavior.

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Biology

High-speed video captures rapid viper strikes in the wild

Nick Lavars January 13, 2017

Predator-prey interactions, like those between vipers and rats, play out countless times every day and are over in an instant, but armed with cutting edge video technologies biologists are now able to observe them in mesmerizing new ways. ​​

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Environment

Cement sponges up lots of the carbon dioxide caused by its production

Lisa-Ann Lee November 22, 2016

Scientists say that what you've been told about cement is not entirely true. Far from being a climate change villain, it actually helps clear a substantial amount of carbon dioxide from the air once it's set.

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Science

Scientists build smartphone user profiles by studying their dirty screens

Nick Lavars November 15, 2016

By analyzing the molecular traces left behind on smartphone displays, scientists have worked out a way to paint pictures of user lifestyles – information that may one day help crime scene investigators close in on a suspect.​​​

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Electronics

Magnetic ink brings printable and self-healing electronics together

Eric Mack November 3, 2016

Engineers from the University of California, San Diego​ have brought together a couple of nascent technologies that could result in inexpensive and long-lasting electronic devices. The team created a magnetic ink that can print a variety of self-healing components.

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Space

"Space brain" could make manned trips to Mars rather forgettable

David Szondy October 10, 2016

Scientists at UCI say that cosmic radiation could cause astronauts on long deep space missions to develop "space brain" with symptoms of dementia. Tests indicate that exposure to high-energy particles cause marked by long-term neurological damage.

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