New App Helps People Remember Faces
An app could help those with face blindness but has raised concerns among privacy experts
Engineering1056 articles archived since 1845
What's Changed Since My First Column for Scientific American
What’s changed since my first Scientific American column
How the Brain's Face Code Might Unlock the Mysteries of Perception
Doris Tsao mastered facial recognition in the brain. Now she’s looking to determine the neural code for everything we see
"Superhuman" AI Triumphs Playing the Toughest Board Games
Will a general algorithm that masters chess, go and shogi succeed as well for games with less-defined rules?
Simulating a Cleaner World, From Molecule to Metropolis
Engineers are using sophisticated models to clean plastic debris from oceans, optimize airflow in smog-filled cities, and make vehicles lighter and more efficient.
Detecting Fog Using Signals from Cell-Phone Towers
A novel technique can predict foggy conditions an hour before they appear
Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2018
Disruptive solutions that are poised to change the world
Venice Anti-Flood Gates Could Wreck Lagoon Ecosystem
Instead, researchers suggest injecting fluid cement or water below ground to lift the entire city
Silent and Simple Ion Engine Powers a Plane with No Moving Parts
Researchers fly the first atmospheric aircraft to use space-proven ionic thrust technology
A New Supercomputer Is the World's Fastest Brain-Mimicking Machine
The computer has one million processors and 1,200 interconnected circuit boards
Transforming Robot Changes Shape at Will
Researchers have created a 'modular' robot which can analyze its environment and reconfigure itself to overcome obstacles and achieve tasks. This video was reproduced with permission and was first published on October 31, 2018. It is a Nature Video production.
A Material to Save the World?
Metal-organic frameworks are compounds that are set to solve some tough challenges: producing water in the desert, removing greenhouse gases from the air and storing dangerous gases more safely.
Algorithms Designed to Fight Poverty Can Actually Make It Worse
How algorithms designed to alleviate poverty can perpetuate it instead
Artificial Intelligence Is Learning to Keep Learning
A new machine-learning technique mimics the brain’s ability to adapt to new circumstances
Survey Polls the World: Should a Self-Driving Car Save Passengers, or Kids in the Road?
More than two million internet respondents pondered dilemmas to consider in letting vehicles make moral choices
The Harm That Data Do
Paying attention to how algorithmic systems impact marginalized people worldwide is key to a just and equitable future
Scientists Create Artificial Wood That Is Water- and Fire-Resistant
The synthetic material is faster to make than natural wood
Laser Advances That Changed Our Lives: Nobel Prize in Physics
Arthur Ashkin, Gérard Mourou and Donna Strickland shared the Nobel Prize for finding ways to control and enhance laser light, leading to numerous common applications.
Nobel in Physics for Controlling Laser Light
Arthur Ashkin, Gérard Mourou and Donna Strickland share the 2018 physics Nobel for their work with lasers that have led to numerous practical applications, such as eye surgery.
