University of Houston

If scuba divers use inflatable BCDs (buoyancy control devices), why don't underwater robots? Well, an experimental new one does, and the technology is said to be much more energy-efficient than traditional methods of moving up and down in the water.

Prostheses that replace fingers are typically complex, expensive devices, the cost of which often isn't covered by medical insurance. The student-designed Lunet, on the other hand (no pun intended) is simple and can be made from open-source plans.

Monitoring extreme environments requires a sensor continues to work in high temperatures. Now, researchers have developed a piezoelectric sensor that operates reliably at the temperature of erupting mafic lava, the hottest type of lava on Earth.

Aeromine says its unique "motionless" rooftop wind generators deliver up to 50% more energy than a solar array of the same price, while taking up just 10% of the roof space and operating more or less silently. In independent tests, they seem legit.

Batteries that use organic materials in place of rare metals are seen as a promising way to tackle their environmental footprint, and new research demonstrates how their performance might be brought up to speed.

Extracting and refining copper into a useful form can be energy intensive and requires harsh chemical treatments. But now researchers at the University of Houston have discovered bacteria that naturally convert toxic copper ions into metallic copper.

Icing can bring down aircraft, snap power lines, and cause a surprising amount of structural damage. However, scientists at the University of Houston have come up with a surprising solution – and it involves magnets.

Researchers at the University of Houston (UH) have created a polymer lens designed to fit on almost any smartphone and to magnify images up to 120 times their original size, all at an estimated production cost of just three cents per lens.

We're coming just that much closer to electronic devices such as TV screens that can be rolled up in a tube. Scientists have created a material that is conductive, transparent and flexible – a combination that they claim has never before been achieved.

A team of students has created a portable sign-language translator.