Science

Using nothing other than light, Canadian scientists have developed an organic smart material that can either soak spilled oil out of water, or repel it. The material can be used in this way like a sponge to quickly clean up marine oil spills before the oil reaches the shoreline and mixes…

A young man has won a five-figure financial prize at the nation’s top science fair for his research into a mysterious outbreak of tumors he witnessed among the sea turtles under the waves of his home in Hawaii. Maddux Springer lives on Oahu and spent most of his free time during…

Using cutting-edge high-resolution microscopy, researchers were able to track the developmental stages of butterfly scales, tracing their formation from caterpillar to butterfly and revealing how they become so vivacious. Their work reveals that actin, a protein in butterfly’s scales, orchestrates the intricate arrangement of the colorful structures. Conducted at the University…

First prize in the USA’s largest and most prestigious science fair has gone to a 16-year-old girl who found new ways to optimize the components of biomedical implants, promising a future of safer, faster, and longer-lasting versions of these critical devices. It’s not the work of science fiction; bioelectronic implants like…

For over decade, big pharma has been pouring billions into drug trials for Alzheimer’s disease treatments without progress. But what if there were a neuroprotective compound with better early-stage results than any developed pharmaceutical sitting right on our dinner plates? That’s what Dr. Paul Cox may have discovered after solving the…

Cheaper and greener batteries for electric cars and mobile phones could use our common element iron, rather than scarce, expensive ones, shows new research. A collaboration co-led by an Oregon State University chemistry researcher is hoping to spark a green battery revolution by showing that iron instead of cobalt and nickel…