Insect-Inspired Camera
The compound eyes of insects have inspired the design of a new camera.
Podcast for 19 April 2013
GIANT SNAILS & ANCIENT TREES - Giant aliens attack Florida, unsticking geckos, the worlds within carnivorous plants, and mapless migrant monarchs.
Zapping Cocaine Addiction
Lasers can eliminate cocaine addiction in rats, pointing to new therapies for humans.
Electric Flowers
Low-voltage electricity may help guide bees to the right flowers.
Egyptian Blue
The world's oldest artificial pigment, Egyptian Blue, has previously unknown and potentially useful properties.
Picasso’s Paint
High-energy X rays have resolved a longstanding question about Picasso's materials.
Detachable Gecko Tails
Gecko tails fall off along pre-determined lines.
New Light
A new light type, called a FIPEL, may outshine most of today's options.
Listening to Football Helmets
Measuring the acoustical signatures of colliding football helmets could help improve helmet safety.
Seeing Inside Fukushima
Cosmic rays called muons could help detect uranium in damaged Japanese nuclear reactors.
Backwards Hummingbirds
New research reveals how hummingbirds fly backwards.
Quantum Computing
Quantum computing harnesses strange properties of atoms and particles and could revolutionize the computer age.
Podcast for 3 August 2012
INVENTION - More lifelike robots. Headlights that can see past raindrops. And a pair of goggles that could improve your memory. Also, scientists have developed the world's lightest material.
Smart Headlights
“Smart” headlights improve visibility by illuminating the road ahead, but not raindrops or snowflakes.
Podcast for 6 July 2012
OUR SOLAR SYSTEM - Scientists discover organic carbon in meteorites from Mars and take a new look at the asteroid Vesta. Also: zebrafish meet their robotic overlords, and someone finally invents a blind-spot-free side-view mirror.
Wide Angle Mirror
A mathematician has designed a wide-angle driver's side mirror that doesn't distort shapes.
Insect Roundup
To protect tiny machines from hidden dangers, engineers are getting inspiration from insects.
Light Circuits
Researchers are designing faster, smaller circuits that use light instead of electricity.
Nanotech Roundup
The flight of butterflies could inspire miniature flying robots.
Podcast for 10 February 2012
Are cyclones and earthquakes related? Why recent bad winters may be the result of global warming. And what life might be like on a planet with two stars. Also: we answer a listener's question about the temperature of the sun.