Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA)

MIT researchers discover a new phenomenon that could lead to new types of lasers and sensors. There are several ways to “trap” a beam of light — usually with mirrors, other reflective surfaces, or high-tech materials such as photonic crystals. But now researchers at MIT have discovered a new method to trap light that could

While the polyester leisure suit was a 1970s mistake, polyester and other synthetic fibers like nylon are still around and are a major contributor to the microplastics load in the environment, according to a Penn State materials scientist, who suggests switching to biosynthetic fibers to solve this problem. “These materials, during production, processing and after

The writer Salman Rushdie hit Twitter on Monday morning with a flurry of exasperated posts.   Facebook, he wrote, had deactivated his account, demanded proof of identity and then turned him into Ahmed Rushdie, which is how he is identified on his passport. He had never used his first name, Ahmed, he pointed out; the

A team of researchers at UC San Diego and San Diego State University has developed a pair of “4-D goggles” that allows wearers to be physically “touched” by a movie when they see a looming object on the screen, such as an approaching spacecraft. The device was developed based on a study conducted by the

The space agency made a splash with its headline-friendly plan to print pizzas in space. But what exactly does the ability to create food for astronauts mean for our plans for exploring the galaxy? Any kid who has taken a trip to a science museum has tried astronaut ice cream, the dehydrated treat that astronauts

Throw out your touchscreens, kibosh your Kinects: thought-controlled computing is the new new thing. Brain-computer interface technology has been simmering for years, and seems finally ready to bubble out of research labs and into the real world. Earlier this year, friends of mine at the Toronto art space Site3 built a thought-controlled flamethrower, for fun. (Don’t you hate

The immediacy and fast pace of the Internet can be magical. But when someone makes a comment that the masses disagree with, a mob with 140-character pitchforks can develop in seconds and the Internet can become terrifyingly bellicose. We saw this happen late-last week when Justine Sacco, now the former communications director for InterActiveCorp, better known as I.A.C.,

Auctions were supposed to be the new way to buy and sell everything. It didn’t turn out that way—just ask eBay. In 1846, an Irish immigrant named Alexander Turney Stewart opened a store in New York City unlike any that Americans had seen before. Located downtown, on the east side of Broadway, what became known

Engineers at UC San Diego are using soft robotics technology to make light, flexible gloves that allow users to feel tactile feedback when they interact with virtual reality environments.  The researchers used the gloves to realistically simulate the tactile feeling of playing a virtual piano keyboard. Engineers recently presented their research, which is still at

Tailor welded coil technology   Tailor Welded Blanks showed off new technology on Friday that could lead to lighter, more fuel-efficient automobiles as well as bigger business for the Frenchtown Township metal-processing factory. The company, at 1600 Nadeau Rd. in Frenchtown Township, demonstrated its “tailor welded coil technology,” which will provide stronger and less costly