Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST)

It’s the kind of educational innovation that could truly reshape how our children learn.   At Michigan’s Clintondale high school, resources are scarce and failure rates are high. But a new initiative–watch videos of lectures at home, work on problems in class–has achieved jaw-dropping results. It’s the kind of educational innovation that could truly reshape

It’s the social engineering that’s the killer. Almost six years ago, I was the editor of a single-topic issue on energy for Scientific American that included an article by Princeton University’s Robert Socolow that set out a well-reasoned plan for how to keep atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations below a planet-livable threshold of 560 ppm. The

High oil prices and environmental and economic security concerns have triggered interest in using algae-derived oils as an alternative to fossil fuels. But growing algae — or any other biofuel source — can require a lot of water. However, a new study shows that being smart about where we grow algae can drastically reduce how

Made of electronic circuits coupled to minute particles, the devices could flow through intestines or pipelines to detect problems. Researchers at MIT have created what may be the smallest robots yet that can sense their environment, store data, and even carry out computational tasks. These devices, which are about the size of a human egg

Researchers at Tokyo Tech have succeeded in constructing protein nanotubes from tiny scaffolds made by cross-linking of engineered protein crystals. The achievement could accelerate the development of artificial enzymes, nano-sized carriers and delivery systems for a host of biomedical and biotechnological applications. An innovative way for assembly of proteins into well-ordered nanotubes has been developed

Here’s a very clever hack of a Wii Balance Board from engineer Ryo Yamamoto that was on display at Tokyo Make Meeting 06 this past weekend. Mr. Yamamoto’s “Diet Chair” is essentially just a regular chair, but with a Wii Balance Board sitting underneath the seat. What’s smart about this is that it allows the chair