Technology, features and articles | Educational Science

Jan 9, 2016

Pocket-Sized Device Charges Your Phone with Water

LAS VEGAS – A sleek new device could help you charge your phone without an electric outlet. Swedish startup MyFC unveiled its cool technology, dubbed JAQ, here at CES on Jan. 6. The device, which is small enough to slip into your back pocket, is a fuel cell charger. It...

Jan 12, 2016

Ta-Da: Magician's Trick Brings 3D Images to Your Phone

Even your smartphone can make 3D images, without adding expensive laser holography systems — at least if an Arizona inventor has his way. Hologram Pyramid was dreamed up by Jim Smith, a Phoenix resident and engineer who has worked in industrial and product design for the past 15 years. It's...

Jan 14, 2016

Magnetic Device Lets Smartphones Test Your Blood

Smartphones equipped with portable devices that magnetically levitate cells might one day help diagnose diseases in the home, clinic or lab, researchers say. Nowadays, smartphones are incredibly powerful portable computers that include handy devices such as multimegapixel cameras, and they can be found in both developing and developed countries. Increasingly,...

Jan 23, 2016

Color-Morphing Clams Could Inspire New Smartphone & TV Screens

Iridescent cells in the flesh of giant clams could one day help scientists design more efficient solar panels, and television and smartphone screens that are easier on the eyes, researchers say. Giant clams are native to coral reefs of the Pacific and Indian oceans and can live up to 100...

Feb 2, 2016

Smartphones Could Generate Own Power with New Coating

A transparent material that can be attached to a smartphone's touch screen could help the device generate electricity whenever anyone taps it, researchers in China say. Touch screens are now found on most cell phones and tablet computers. Using a touch screen typically involves finger taps, and scientists at Lanzhou...

Mar 8, 2016

Apple vs. FBI: What's Really Going On?

Apple is embroiled in a battle with the FBI over an iPhone that was used by one of the shooters involved in the December attack that killed 14 and wounded 22 in San Bernardino, California. The two sides are involved in an ongoing court case over Apple's refusal to comply...

Mar 17, 2016

Drawn to Safety: Doodles Could Secure Your Phone

Tired of wracking your brain to remember the strings of words, arrangements of letters or random numbers that you chose for your latest password? Soon, you might be able to ditch all of them and unlock your phone, apps and accounts with a doodle. Researchers have found that doodle passwords...

Jun 24, 2016

What Brexit Vote Means for Science (in 140 Characters)

The United Kingdom's vote to leave the European Union has left scientists and researchers questioning the future of their work, funding, collaborations and more. In a historic vote this week, 52 percent of participants in the U.K. voted in favor of the Brexit, as the referendum by British voters to...

Jul 14, 2016

'Snowfox' GPS Phone Helps Parents Keep Tabs on Young Kids

A new, screenless phone for young kids could help parents stay in touch with their children, without the adults having to worry that their kids are glued to smartphones. The new device, called Snowfox, also comes equipped with a GPS tracker, letting parents know where their kids are, while helping...

Aug 19, 2016

Smartphone-Connected Contact Lenses Give New Meaning to 'Eye Phone'

Apps allow you to link your smartphone to anything from your shoes, to your jewelry, to your doorbell — and soon, you may be able to add your contact lenses to that list. Engineers at the University of Washington have developed an innovative way of communicating that would allow medical...

Oct 19, 2016

3D-Printed Gadget Lets Kids Turn Smartphone into Microscope

A 3D-printed smartphone microscope system is making microbiology interactive by allowing schoolkids to experiment and play games with light-seeking microbes. The so-called LudusScope borrows its name from the Latin word ludus, which means play, game or elementary school. The device looks similar to a standard microscope, but can be docked...

Nov 21, 2016

Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg Outlines Projects to Reduce Fake News

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg posted a comment to his home page last night that finally addresses the problem of fake news on his social media site. Normally we wouldn't share specifics about our work in progress, but given the importance of these issues and the amount of interest in this...

Apr 20, 2017

Genius Bot: Chat with 'Einstein' Via Facebook Messenger

On April 25, National Geographic Channel will launch its first scripted television show, Genius, about the life of Albert Einstein. But before that happens, the channel is also planning for the famed scientist to make an appearance — of sorts — just in time for the March for Science this...

May 26, 2017

Spray-On Touch Screens? How to Turn Any Flat Surface into a Touchpad

The technique, dubbed Electrick by its inventors from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, relies on electrodes attached to an object made of or coated with any slightly conductive material. While not as precise as smartphone touch-screen technology, the resulting touchpads are still accurate enough to allow basic control functions, such...

Jun 7, 2017

Cracked Cellphone Screens Could Soon Be a Thing of the Past

Almost every smartphone owner knows the sickening feeling of watching your phone fall to the ground and seeing the screen splinter like a spiderweb into dozens of tiny pieces. The screens are one of the iPhone's major design flaws; they are made primarily out of silicone, a material that is...