Using specially synthesized crystalline materials, scientists from the University of Southern Denmark have created a substance that is able to absorb and store oxygen in such high concentrations that just one bucketful is enough to remove all of the oxygen in a room. The substance is also able to release the stored oxygen in a controlled manner when it is needed, so just a few grains could replace the need for divers to carry bulky … Read More → "Oxygen absorbing material may allow us to breathe underwater"

Taking a more practical bend, the Nobel Committee has awarded this year’s prize in physics to the three inventors of the blue light-emitting diode.

Isamu Akasaki and Hiroshi Amano, who worked together at the University of Nagoya, and Shuji Nakamura, who worked at Nichia Chemicals in Tokushima, developed the devices in the late 1980s and early 1990s. 

“Their inventions were revolutionary,” the … Read More → "Inventors of the blue LED win Nobel Prize in physics"

UK-based green retrofitting company Solarbox has begun converting London’s iconic but underusedphone boxes into solar powered charging stations for smartphones. The bright green painted boxes are free to use, but will display advertisements to users as they charge up. Solar box cofounder Harold Crastonsays he got the idea for the revamped boxes while walking past a familiar red box while in school.

I … Read More → "Abandoned iconic London phone boxes converted into solar powered smartphone charging stations"

When you walk around a space, certain cells in your brain are quietly mapping out a grid so that you can easily navigate the space. It’s a lot like GPS. We know this thanks to three scientists who just won the Nobel Prize in Medicine.

Norwegian … Read More → "Scientists who discovered the brain’s natural GPS won the Nobel Prize"

A fleet of U.S. Navy boats approached an enemy vessel like sharks circling their prey. The scene might not seem so remarkable compared to any of the Navy’s usual patrol activities, but in this case, part of an exercise conducted by the U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR), the boats operated without any direct human control: they acted as a robot boat swarm.

The tests on Virginia’s James River … Read More → "U.S. Navy tests robot boat swarm to overwhelm enemies"

Dubbed “Sounds of NYC,” this moving map of sound uses 180 Play:1 speakers filled with LED lights as a display. Those light-up speakers act purely as “pixels”—they don’t actually produce sound because they’ve been gutted. To handle the audio, there are 120 black Play:1 units on either side of the display.

Once you stand in front … Read More → "This interactive map of NYC is made of 180 morphing speakers"

“We’re both neuroscientists studying human memory with fMRI at the University of Texas at Austin — I wanted to surprise her with a gift that best symbolized me giving her all that I am.

But, being scientists, the notion of giving one’s “heart” just didn’t cut it. So, armed with a brain scan of my own brain, I created a 3D model, had it printed (thanks to Nathan Tone of& … Read More → "Neuroscientist groom gives neuroscientist bride a 3D print of his brain"

This epic video isn’t a CGI outtake from Lord of the Rings. It’s proof that a guy with a quadcopter managed to get very, very close to an erupting Icelandic volcano—close enough to melt the face of the GoPro camera that shot the video.

Eric Cheng, director of aerial imaging for drone maker DJI, joined photographer Ragnar Th. … Read More → "Incredible close-up drone video of an erupting volcano in Iceland"

RoboPuppet is a way of remotely controlling a robot that makes so much sense, and is so obviously a good idea, that we’re honestly not sure why it’s taken this long to implement. It’s simply an interface where you 3D print a little tiny version of the robot you want to control, add some encoders, and then use the model to puppet the full-size version, which just mimics whatever it … Read More → "Tiny 3D printed robots make teleoperation cheap and simple"

We usually measure the time it takes for a planet in our solar system to orbit the sun in months and years. But given the compact scale of this desktop solar system, the anodized aluminium balls can instead be used to measure seconds, minutes, and hours.

The balls appear … Read More → "Tiny orbiting planets tell the time on this solar system clock"