Publication of the Society for Science & the Public

Explore:

Author Archives: Sid Perkins

Teens take home science gold

By Sid Perkins / May 17, 2013

Eesha Khare (left), Ionut Budisteanu (center) and Henry Wanjune Lin (right) claimed the top three prizes at this year’s Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Phoenix, Arizona. Budisteanu’s work toward developing a self-driving car earned the 19-year-old Romanian inventor the $75,000 top prize. Credit: Intel/Chris Ayers

A low-cost, self-driving vehicle; battery alternatives and analyses of galaxy clusters claim top prizes at a global high school science competition

Posted in Young Scientists | Tagged feature, galaxy clusters, Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, Intel ISEF, intelisef, Ionut Budisteanu, self-driving car, Society for Science & the Public, supercapacitor

Flagging loose bolts

By Sid Perkins / May 16, 2013

Mei Kam (left), Mei Di Zhu (center) and Jia Ying Zhong (right) designed a “smart washer” that provides an alert when the nut holding the washer on a bolt comes loose. Credit: Patrick Thornton, SSP

“Smart alert washer” automatically flags when a nut is coming loose, warning of potential danger

Posted in Technology & Engineering, Young Scientists | Tagged accidents, bolt, China, Formula One, friction, getinvolved, Hong Kong, Intel, Intel ISEF, International Science and Engineering Fair, ISEF, Jia Ying Zhong, Mei Di Zhu, Mei Kam, nut, Sheng Keng Hui Li Ping Secondary School, spring, structures, washer

Pee is for power

By Sid Perkins / May 16, 2013

Adebola Duro-Aina (left), Oluwatoyin Faleke (center) and Zainab Bello (right) designed a system that uses urine to produce a fuel. Generators that run on this fuel, rather than gasoline, would avoid spewing carbon monoxide, a toxic pollutant. Credit: Patrick Thornton, SSP

The water in urine can be a source of hydrogen for electrical generators

Posted in Environment & Pollution, Young Scientists | Tagged Adebola Florish Duro-Aina, carbon monoxide, Doregos Private Academy, electric power, electrical generator, electricity generation, getinvolved, hydrogen, Intel ISEF, intelisef, International Science and Engineering Fair, ISEF, Lagos, Nigeria, Oluwatoyin Eunice Faleke, renewable energy, sustainability, urine, wastes to energy, Zainab Eniola Bello

Avoiding ‘hot’ wheels

By Sid Perkins / May 15, 2013

Phillipe Lothaller, a 17-year-old senior from Cape Town, South Africa, has invented a device that could save airlines big money by extending the life of tires. The metal device at left is an early mock-up of the design. A newer version (seen in white at center) has pop-up scoops instead of fixed ones. When retracted, the scoops don’t interfere with a plane’s protective wheel wells. Credit: Patrick Thornton, SSP

Teen designs device that could almost double the life of airplane tires

Posted in Technology & Engineering, Transportation, Young Scientists | Tagged airlines, Cape Town, delamination, getinvolved, Intel, Intel ISEF, intelisef, International Science and Engineering Fair, ISEF, Phillipe Lothaller, retread, Rondebosch Boys’ High School, South Africa; aircraft, tires, topstories

Here comes Swarmageddon!

By Sid Perkins / May 12, 2013

Two adult cicadas size each other up on a wooden railing. Credit: rbmiles/iStockphoto

This spring and summer, trillions of cicadas will emerge in the eastern United States

Posted in Animals | Tagged animal behavior, brood, Brood II, Bug Appétit, Cicada-licious, cicadas, College Park; John Cooley, entomologist, entomophagy, evolutionary biologist, feature, Insectarium, Janet Raloff, Michael Raupp, parasites, periodical cicadas, topstories, University of Connecticut in Storrs; nymphs, University of Maryland

Science on the South Lawn

By Sid Perkins / April 25, 2013

The White House hosts scores of student researchers

Posted in Young Scientists | Tagged algae, biofuels, Brittany Wenger, Broadcom MASTERS, Caleb Meyer, Earth Day, Easton LaChappelle, feature, herbicide, Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, Intel Science Talent Search, Jack Andraka, Jessika Baral, Mabel Wheeler, Megan Waples, Naethan Mundkur, pancreatic cancer, President Barack Obama, Sara Volz, Society for Science & the Public (SSP), topstories, White House, White House Science Fair

Microscopic caffeine fiends

By Sid Perkins / April 15, 2013

Scientists tweaked the genes of a bacterium so that it requires caffeine to live and reproduce. Now, they can use this microbe to measure concentrations of caffeine in beverages such as soda, coffee and energy drinks. When the microbes are added to a water-weakened version of one of those drinks, the bacteria grow and the liquid turns cloudy — but only if the drink contained caffeine. In caffeine-free Coke (top left), no cloudiness appears. Credit: Barrick Lab/University of Texas at Austin

Researchers create a bacterium that can’t live or reproduce without a stimulant found in soft drinks, chocolate, coffee and tea

Posted in Microbes, Fungi & Algae | Tagged biochemist, bioengineer, caffeine, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), E. coli (Escherichia coli), gene, Genetic engineering, getinvolved, Jeffrey Barrick, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); guanine, topstories, University of Texas at Austin; Christopher Voigt

Building a better battery

By Sid Perkins / April 8, 2013

Researchers designed a way to make better batteries using supersmall sulfur particles coated with titanium dioxide. Credit: Seh et al., Nature Communications (2013)

Researchers develop a way to make batteries that hold more charge and don’t weaken with age

Posted in Chemistry, Computers & Electronics | Tagged Battery, Cornell University, getinvolved, lithium-sulfur battery, materials science, nanostructure, polysulfides, Stanford University; Hector Abruña, sulfur, titanium dioxide; Yi Cui, topstories

Supertiny satellites launched

By Sid Perkins / March 6, 2013

Cordell Grant, an aerospace engineer at the University of Toronto in Canada, assembles one of his team’s nanosatellites. These are the smallest space telescopes ever sent into Earth orbit. Credit: Johannes Hirn (Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto)

Researchers are building simple, miniature satellites to bring down their costs and expand their availability

Posted in Technology & Engineering | Tagged aerospace engineer, astronomy, Canada; Kieran Carroll, Canada; orbiting telescope, cosmology, exoplanet, Gedex, getinvolved, Hubble Space Telescope, infrared, Mississauga, nanosatellites (nanosats); Cordell Grant, Ontario, Orbit, satellites, sensors, space shuttle, stars, telescope, topstories, University of Toronto, wavelengths

Feeling the invisible

By Sid Perkins / February 18, 2013

A rat with an infrared-detecting sensor wired into its brain soon learned that it could find water at a door marked with an invisible infrared light.
Credit: Thomson et al., Nature Communications (2013)

Sensor wired into a rat’s brain lets it detect light it can’t see

Posted in Animals, Light & Radiation, Tech & Math, Technology & Engineering | Tagged bioengineer, brain, Duke University, electromagnetic radiation, getinvolved, infrared light, Miguel Nicolelis, neuroscientist, plasticity, rat, San Diego, sight, spectrum, Todd Coleman, topstories, touch, University of California

SSP Network

Utilities