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COVER STORY + An Era of Opportunity: the International Space Station Begins Its Next Stage of Partnership and Innovation FEATURE ARTICLES + Biology in Orbit + Strange Behavior: the Odd Effects of Microgravity + an Emphasis on Partnership + Pen Caps & Nanoparticles: Education on the ISS + Living...

In 2009, the first wireless pacemaker was implanted in a patient in the U.S., but there is still a lot of work that remains to be accomplished. About a year ago, Medtronic offered a sneak peek of a leadless pacemaker under development, and other medical device firms and startups have also announced similar...

This week's Question: A new study from Common Sense Media shows that infants and toddlers spend twice as much time with screen media as they do with books. While television is still the dominant media device in most young children's lives, the study, based on...

Aneurysms can occur in any blood vessel in the body and usually cannot be detected unless there is a rupture or leakage. About 33,000 North Americans suffer a rupture every year, leading to stroke with up to a 60 percent fatality rate and permanent disability in about 50 percent of survivors. Now,...

A new laser-driven technique allows remote, non-invasive and rapid mapping of sound fields, which will provide loudspeaker manufacturers with detailed data on which to design their technology. The technique builds on the laser vibrometer and relies on a phenomenon called the acousto-optic effect. To...

NASA engineers have produced a material that absorbs on average more than 99 percent of the ultraviolet, visible, infrared, and far-infrared light that hits it — a development that promises to open new frontiers in space technology. The nanotech-based coating is a thin layer of multi-walled...

A team of computer scientists, physicists, and physicians at Harvard have developed a simple yet powerful method of visualizing human arteries that may result in more accurate diagnoses of atherosclerosis and heart disease. The prototype tool, called “HemoVis,” creates a 2D diagram of...

An international team has developed transistors using natural cotton fibers — an innovation that represents a significant leap forward because it lays the groundwork for creating even more complex devices, such as cotton-based circuits, which in turn open doors to the creation of wearable electronic devices...

Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have shed light on the role of temperature in controlling a fabrication technique for drawing chemical patterns as small as 20 nanometers. This technique could provide an inexpensive,...

NASA engineers have produced a material that absorbs, on average, more than 99 percent of the ultraviolet, visible, infrared, and far-infrared light that hits it -- a development that promises to open new frontiers in space technology. Engineers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD, developed...

This week's Question: Two recent ePetitions on a "We the People" petition site asked the government to acknowledge the presence of aliens. A reply from a research assistant from the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy emphasized that the government was actively looking for...

A $35 “snubber” developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Propulsion Directorate is a vibration damper that will prevent cracks in the J-seal on the F119 engine’s inlet case, a spoked, ring-like device that helps control the air going into the engine.

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a prototype wireless sensor capable of detecting trace amounts of a key ingredient found in many explosives. The device, which employs carbon nanotubes and is printed on paper or paper-like material using standard inkjet technology,...

The Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) has opened a new compact range that will be used for radar cross section measurements and antenna testing. The new facility, which is shielded against electromagnetic interference, will be used for GTRI's defense-related research projects and collaborations...

A breakthrough in components for next-generation batteries could come from special materials that transform their structure to perform better over time. A team of researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory, led by Argonne nanoscientist Tijana Rajh and battery expert...

Researchers have developed a tank-like robot that has the ability to scale smooth walls, opening up a series of applications ranging from inspecting pipes, buildings, aircraft and nuclear power plants to deployment in search and rescue operations.This method offers an alternative to the magnets, suction cups, spines and...

Tractor beams — the ability to trap and move objects using laser light — are not just “Star Trek” science fiction, and are not beyond current technology. A team of NASA scientists has won funding to study the concept of remotely capturing planetary or atmospheric particles, and delivering them to a...

This week's Question: Last week, leaders of various commercial space companies argued for the future of their industry in front of a House panel, as lawmakers questioned whether there would be enough of a market in space transportation and tourism to...