Stories by Larry Greenemeier

Space Spectacles: NASA Evaluates Adjustable Astronaut Eyewear

Earth orbit is no place for fumbling with reading glasses or getting headaches from bifocals

Cool Ride: Carmakers Search for Greener Air Conditioning Refrigerant

Beginning in certain 2013 models, GM promises to use a new AC refrigerant that breaks down faster in the atmosphere than currently used chemicals

PET Project: Radiologists Push Imaging Technologies in Developing Countries

RAD-AID, Project Hope and Philips Healthcare team up to assess the ability of communities in western China and northern India to use CT scans, MRIs and other imaging equipment to improve health care

Compound Conundrum: Chemists Turn to Modified Microscope to Fathom Deep-Sea Mystery Molecule

When University of Aberdeen researchers encountered an undecipherable molecule from the Pacific Ocean's Mariana Trench, IBM's fine-tuned atomic force microscope helped them complete the puzzle

9 automotive X PRIZE competitors move on to the final round

The original field of 136 experimental vehicles vying for a $10 million prize in Progressive Insurance's Automotive X PRIZE competition has been whittled down to just nine finalists, competition organizers said Tuesday.

How Will the Smart Grid Handle Heat Waves?

Pretty well, once the technology to automatically respond to peak demand and store renewable energy matures

Radar holography could offer a safer, more effective approach to finding land mines

U.S. Navy Laser Weapon Shoots Down Drones in Test [Video]

During a recent test, a Navy laser using a tracking system from Raytheon shot down four unmanned aerial vehicles

Former Vice President Dick Cheney receives artificial heart part

Former Vice President Dick Cheney's announcement this week that he has been implanted with a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) to aid his ailing heart highlights one of several technologies available to people suffering from heart failure.

BP test could lead to an interim fix of 85-day leak at the Deepwater site

BP is a few hours away from beginning an integrity test of its leaking Macondo well Tuesday afternoon that will determine whether it's still feasible to shut off the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico from the top of the well, or if all hopes for stopping the gusher should continue to be pinned on the ongoing relief-well effort.

A Change of Heart: Portable Power Source Lets Cardiac Patients Await a Permanent Donor at Home

A new artificial heart ventricular pump uses a power driver shrunken to 3 percent of its original weight, yet is able to generate enough energy to maintain optimum pumping capacity

What will it be like to own an electric car in 2011?

Very few people really know much today about the experience of owning an electric vehicle of course, given that EVs are not widely available. Nissan hopes to change this by the end of the year when its fully electric Leaf debuts.

Compassionate Coding: Students Compete in Microsoft Competition to Write Humanitarian Apps [Slide Show]

At Microsoft's Eighth Annual Imagine Cup finals this week, 400 students from the around the world presented software that, among other things, improves health care delivery, aids rescue workers and tackles traffic jams

Firefly mating could reveal clues about how the brain is wired

For many, the warm glow of fireflies in the night air is a sure sign that summer has arrived. After dark, these bioluminescent beetles are generally visible only when they emit flashes of yellow, green or pale red from their lower abdomen as part of their mating ritual.

Deflated expectations: It takes more than a gust to harness wind energy

The presence of strong gusts and flat, wide-open spaces would appear tailor-made for the production of electricity from wind energy, yet the reality of harvesting renewable energy is never that straightforward.

Winds of Change Blow Renewable Energy Across Latin America [Slide Show]

In Colombia the indigenous Wayuu greet wind energy produced on their desert land with suspicion

U.S., U.K. military leaders address climate change's role as a global threat multiplier

Conflict brought on by droughts, famine and unwelcome migration are as old as history itself. Yet a growing number of military analysts think that climate change will exacerbate these problems worldwide and are encouraging countries to prepare to maintain order even as shrinking resources make their citizens more desperate.

Robot Test Drive

Your Web-enabled mechanical stunt double is ready

What can a three-legged dog teach robots about resilience?

Anyone who's ever seen a dog move around on three limbs knows that canines are remarkably resilient creatures. Scientists are now wondering whether such adaptability could likewise be programmed into robots, in the event they experience damage or malfunction far from a repair shop (look no further than NASA's Mars Spirit rover to see why this is important).

Student ROV operators show they are ready for deepwater missions