REVIEW – For Christmas one year when I was a kid, I asked for a microscope. Yes, I was a nerd as a kid too. I had a lot of fun with that entry-level Tasco microscope. I looked at squigglies in bird bath water (eew), my hair, leaves, etc. When I was offered a sample […]
Apexel APL-MS003 digital microscope kit review Read More
NEWS – Have you ever wondered whether your UV sterilization device really uses a germicidal UVC light source? Well, now you can test those products using the Quantadose Rapid UVGI (ultraviolet germicidal irradiation) Intensity Test card. I first found it on the WeBeFit website. The card shows you when UVC light is detected and shows the
NEWS – Electricity is overrated. Way before electricity was harnessed, nature figured out how to light up via bioluminescence. Bioluminescence (illumination) results from a light-producing chemical reaction called chemiluminescence, a natural defense mechanism of many marine creatures. The folks at IFLScience recently published an offer from stacksocial for the Bio-Orb – a bioluminescence bulb filled
Bio-Orb turns on the lights with the power of bioluminescence Read More
ARTICLE – Do you remember my article on microswimmers? Well, now engineers have developed microfliers – electronic microchips with wings! I first discovered this fascinating news on Jalopnik and dove further into the details on Northwestern University’s website. According to the Northwestern Now article, engineers John A. Rogers, Yonggang Huang, and others from Northwestern University
Check it out – “flying” microchips! Read More
ARTICLE – Several months ago I noticed an article (PC Gamer) about scientists from Leiden University (Soft Matter) having printed a 15 micrometer-sized starship Voyager using a 3D microprinter (Photonic Professional GT, Nanoscribe GmbH). They did this to study how synthetic microswimmers move through a viscous substance. Synthetic microswimmers propel themselves through a substance by
ARTICLE – If you’ve been keeping up with the news lately, you know that this spring is all abuzz (ha!) with the emergence of Brood X (pronounced Brood “10”) cicadas. A brood is a mass emergence of cicadas which are the deafeningly loud insects (males trying to attract females) that you hear in the trees.
Help entomologists track the range of Brood X cicadas using the Cicada Safari app Read More
I love technological advances of all kinds and I loathe illness-causing bacteria. So when Professor Dennis Hess, Associate Professor Julie Champion, Postdoctoral Fellow Yeongseon Jang, and Postdoctoral Fellow Won Tae Choi at Georgia Institute of Technology developed a new nanotextured surface for stainless steel that kills common bacteria I was thrilled. This isn’t a coating that
Bacteria killing stainless steel of the future Read More
Back in the 70’s when I was a young Gadgeteer in training, I remember seeing ads for Sea-Monkeys in the back of comic books that I used to read. I was fascinated by the pictures which showed them as a human-like underwater family that would live and play in a fishbowl. I saved my allowance
BioPops are the sea monkeys of the 21st century Read More
Most people may think that a 94 yr old can’t possibly have new ideas, especially when it comes to technology. But John Bannister Goodenough is poised to change the world – again. Goodenough who is a professor of mechanical engineering and materials science at the University of Texas at Austin invented the lithium-ion battery with
The Geosafari Adventure Pens from Educational Insights promote curiosity, exploration, a love of science, discovery and an early appreciation for unusual pens. There are three different pocket-sized pens that have been designed to let your little scientist go out into the world to collect and study specimens from Land, Light, and Water. The Land Adventure
Get your kids interested in science AND pens at a young age Read More
Hey, look! It’s a beetle with a backpack! An electronic backpack. Cool. But why does he have this backpack? Well, in an effort to better understand the musculature of insect locomotion, scientists and engineers from the University of California Berkeley and Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU) strapped on tiny computers and wireless radio controls to
Scientists and engineers strap electronic backpacks on beetles to control them remotely Read More
Boeing is considering using metallic microlattice in future airplanes and yes, it is balanced on top of the head of a dandelion. It’s “approximately one hundred times lighter than Styrofoam” (from HRL Laboratories) – that’s how lightweight this new material is. It is described as an “ordered network of interconnected hollow struts made from a
Metallic microlattice: the unheavy metal Read More