The first autonomous, entirely soft robot
Boston MA (SPX) Aug 25, 2016 -
A team of Harvard University researchers with expertise in 3D printing, mechanical engineering, and microfluidics has demonstrated the first autonomous, untethered, entirely soft robot. This small, 3D-printed robot - nicknamed the octobot - could pave the way for a new generation of completely soft, autonomous machines.
Soft robotics could revolutionize how humans interact with machines. B ...
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Spherical tokamak as model for next steps in fusion energy
Plainsboro NJ (SPX) Aug 25, 2016 -
Among the top puzzles in the development of fusion energy is the best shape for the magnetic facility - or "bottle" - that will provide the next steps in the development of fusion reactors. Leading candidates include spherical tokamaks, compact machines that are shaped like cored apples, compared with the doughnut-like shape of conventional tokamaks. The spherical design produces high-pressure p ...
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Fighting barnacle buildup with biology
San Diego CA (SPX) Aug 23, 2016 -
The coating of barnacles and other growth along the bottoms of boats is more than just an eyesore. Biofouling, as it is known, slows down ships and impedes the readiness of emergency response and military vessels. "Biofouling is an economic issue," said San Diego State University biologist Nick Shikuma.
A new study by Shikuma identifies key developmental steps these waterborne organisms mu ...
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Chimpanzees choose cooperation over competition
Washington DC (SPX) Aug 23, 2016 -
When given a choice between cooperating or competing, chimpanzees choose to cooperate five times more frequently Yerkes National Primate Research Center researchers have found.
This, the researchers say, challenges the perceptions humans are unique in our ability to cooperate and chimpanzees are overly competitive, and suggests the roots of human cooperation are shared with other primates. ...
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Antarctica's past shows region's vulnerability to climate change
Edinburgh, UK (SPX) Aug 23, 2016 -
Fresh understanding of West Antarctica has revealed how the region's ice sheet could become unstable in a warming world. Scientists studying the region's landscape have determined how it reacted to a period of warming after the coldest point of the most recent Ice Age, some 21,000 years ago.
As the Earth warmed, the West Antarctic Ice Sheet reached a tipping point after which it thinned re ...
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Bacteria could aid search for creatures on other planets
Moffett Field CA (SPX) Aug 22, 2016 -
Could there be a way to find bacterial structures on another planet? And if so, how important might these bacteria be in making a planet life-friendly? These are some of the questions that could be answered through studies on stromatolites, which are mounds of calcium-carbonate rock that are built up through lime-secreting cyanobacteria (bacteria that use photosynthesis for energy).
The re ...
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Some signs of induced seismicity spotted in Salton Trough's geothermal production fields
San Francisco CA (SPX) Aug 23, 2016 -
In some parts of Southern California's Brawley Seismic Zone, geothermal energy production may be increasing the background seismicity rate, but changes in earthquake rates elsewhere in the area seem to have natural causes, according to a report published online August 23 in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America.
Geothermal energy production in the Salton Trough's Brawley Sei ...
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