Technology, features and articles | Educational Science

Jun 30, 2006

Rock Concert Question: Are Lighter Salutes Bad for the Environment?

First, for the uninitiated, an explanation of the lighter salute: You're at a concert. The music slows, the first guitar wails of a power ballad begin, and hundreds of disposable lighters illuminate the audience like so many sequins on a vest. Three or four (or 10, if it's a particularly...

Jun 30, 2006

Eye Transmits to Brain at Ethernet Speed

Using a retina plucked from the eye of guinea pigs as a model, scientists estimate that our eyes transmit visual information to our brains at about the same rate as an Ethernet connection. The finding is detailed in the July issue of the journal Current Biology. The guinea pig retina...

Jun 30, 2006

Cars That Can't Crash: 'Technology is Doable Right Now'

Blinding rain. Careening traffic. Distracted drivers. There are lots of reasons why car crashes are America's leading cause of accidental death. And one way that most accidents could be prevented: with cars that predict a coming collision—and take action to stop it. The key to the crash-free future is vehicle-to-vehicle...

Jun 30, 2006

Modern M.A.S.H.: Soldiers Could Pack Their Own Freeze-Dried Blood

According to the Israeli news site Haaretz.com, soldiers in the field may carry an emergency blood supply based on their own blood. Israeli Defense Force Medical Corp Lieutenant Colonel Amir Blumenfield says that a Nes Tziona-based company is working on the product. The idea is to take a soldier's blood,...

May 31, 2006

Future Cell Phones Might Literally Reach Out and Touch

Designers around the world are busy designing the next generation of cell phones that will still drop calls—but look exceptionally cool doing it. Cell phone giant Nokia recently collaborated industrial design students from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London to come up with the cell phone...

Apr 30, 2006

The President's New Helicopter

After decades of upgrades to a fleet of notoriously cramped Sikorsky VH-3 Sea Kings, the White House has tasked Lockheed Martin with a dramatic, $6.1-billion makeover of Marine One, the presidential helicopter, starting this summer. The goal: to fit a mobile Oval Office into the tight quarters of a chopper....

Apr 30, 2006

Some Air Purifiers Create Smog-Like Conditions

UPDATED MAY 12, 2006 AT 2:42 PM ET Correction: This article in its original form was inaccurate. The study involved two types of air purifiers, those commonly called ionic and those that employ a process called ozonolysis. Only those using ozonolysis were found to contribute to ozone levels that can...

Apr 30, 2006

Poll: Ban Cell Phones While Driving

A new survey finds two-thirds of Americans would support a law banning cell phone use while driving. Fewer than half, however, wish to make them illegal in restaurants and movie theaters. The poll of 849 adults, of which 69 percent owned cell phones, was conducted in March and announced this...

Apr 30, 2006

Proposal to Implant Tracking Chips in Immigrants

Scott Silverman, Chairman of the Board of VeriChip Corporation, has proposed implanting the company's RFID tracking tags in immigrant and guest workers. He made the statement on national television on May 16. Silverman was being interviewed on Fox & Friends. Responding to the Bush administration's call to know who is...

Mar 31, 2006

Cell Phones Make Many Americans Frustrated Liars

Cell phones are changing habits of Americans in ways you might not have thought much about. Some 41 percent of cell phone owners fill free time, such as when traveling or waiting for someone, by making phone calls, according to a new national survey of 1,500 people by the Pew...

Mar 31, 2006

Incredible New Military Robot

Meet BigDog, a mechanical mutt that does more than snare Frisbees and irrigate fire hydrants. It totes hundreds of pounds of gear so soldiers won't have to, and it will never spook under fire. Developed by Boston Dynamics with funding from the U.S. military, the BigDog prototype is arguably the...

Mar 31, 2006

Tipping Point: Half of America Wants a Hybrid Car

More than half of all Americans say they would seriously consider buying or leasing a fuel-saving hybrid car, according to a new poll. Price is the obstacle for many, however. The CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll found 48 percent of Americans have cut back significantly on the amount they drive because of...

Mar 31, 2006

State Would Outlaw Mandatory Microchip Implants

RFID microchips implanted in humans? Who would think of such a thing? Here are a few examples: VeriChip RFID Tag Patient Implant Badges Now FDA ApprovedU.S. Company Implants Chips in WorkersRFID Tags Proposed to Halt Blackmarket Cadaver TradeYou're not even safe from being 'chipped when you're dead. But you'll be...

Mar 31, 2006

Tough All-Terrain Military Robot Unveiled

Researchers unveiled today a unique unmanned military vehicle prototype that combines mobility, payload-carrying capacity, and ruggedness to aid troops in combat. The Crusher is a 6.5-ton vehicle made of high-strength aluminum tubes and titanium nodes protected by a steel skid plate that can absorb shocks from impacts with rocks and...

Feb 28, 2006

Mouse Hearts Glow Like E.T.'s

Researchers at Cornell University have created mice whose heart muscles are genetically engineered to fluoresce when the muscles contract. Junichi Nakai of the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Wako-shi, Japan, developed the fluorescent molecule by modifying a green fluorescent protein (derived from bioluminescent jellyfish) and making it glow brightly enough...