Stories by Larry Greenemeier

A Spanish nurse who contracted the virus is just one of hundreds infected while battling the deadly disease, often with substandard equipment and safety protocols

Drivers in a simulator reacted slowly to sudden traffic emergencies regardless of whether they were thumbing texts into smartphones or dictating them to Google Glass. Larry Greenemeier reports

 

More than a million volunteer users of the smarthphone app Carat have helped researchers identify those apps that really suck battery power in both the Android operating system and Apple's iOS. Larry Greenemeier reports

 

3-D visualizations combine EEG and MRI data to illustrate how brain signals propagate and could be used to study neural disorders

Web sites devour piles of disease-related information but still keep a person in the loop to help make sense of the data glut

Mini-jet backpack for runners could help military personnel and others get home faster. Larry Greenemeier reports

A future smart bike helmet can track the rider's motion, determine if a crash was likely and call for help if the rider is incapacitated. Larry Greenemeier reports

 

Just when it seems there's a mobile app for just about everything, psychologists have shown there's room for one more: they are using smartphones to help them better understand the dynamics of moral and immoral behavior out in the community.

The rumor mill surrounding the company's latest is in high gear, with possibly a wearable device and smartphone wallet capabilities to be announced next week. Larry Greenemeier reports

Software start-ups getting big bucks to write code that can identify, find and link logos and brands in the billions of images posted daily. Larry Greenemeier reports

The neuroscience behind the Hulk, Captain America and Iron Man, explained in a Times Square exhibit. Excelsior!

Hydraulic-powered, mind-controlled support suits aren’t just for superheroes. Soon you might have to wear one to work. Larry Greenemeier reports

For the past few years, tech companies and academic researchers have been trying to build so-called neuromorphic computer architectures—chips that mimic the human brain's ability to be both analytical and intuitive in order to deliver context and meaning to large amounts of data.

The Internet-connected headset is drawing interest in the medical community as a video consultation tool. Larry Greenemeier reports.

 

Questions over the best way to protect civilian aircraft from surface-launched missiles have reemerged in light of the recent Malaysia Airlines tragedy over the Ukraine.

Moth eyes absorb almost all incident light, thus reducing reflection that predators would notice. Researchers have now used the moth eye structure as the basis of a highly efficient solar absorbing cell. Larry Greenemeier reports

 

Web and mobile phone users willingly share personal data in exchange for free stuff, but not everyone is ready to throw in the towel on privacy

A multicat feeder system incorporates facial recognition so that owners can tell if individual cats are eating too much or too little. Larry Greenemeier reports

 

HIV health workers, a WHO staffer and at least one top AIDS researcher were among those killed when a Malaysia Airlines plane was shot down over Ukraine

Some users are modifying electronic cigarettes to produce stronger flavors, more impressive vapor clouds and to deliver even more nicotine. Larry Greenemeier reports

 

Columbia University start-up Neuroscout is developing a tool that would allow baseball and other sports teams to evaluate talent by examining players’ brain waves

Machine-learning researchers are developing software that automatically searches through long videos to create edited summaries, or personalized trailers. Larry Greenemeier reports

 

A congenital connective tissue disorder that confers pro basketball height also permanently benches an NBA prospect’s dreams of joining the league

The coffee chain is putting wireless mobile device charging on the menu, a harbinger of cable-free communications and computing