science wire

ESA Space in Images Dizzyingly complex orbits charted across space as part of ESA's winning entry in the last Global Trajectory Optimisation Competition.

Accident researcher Corina Klug uses virtual "human body models" to better protect pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists in the future.

ANN ARBOR?Despite advancements in fuel-saving technologies over the last 25 years, on-road fuel economy for all vehicles is up only one mile per gallon during that time.

ESA Space in Images The European propulsion system of the Orion spacecraft has been installed at NASA's White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico and is ready for testing.

Campus news SGL Group will renew its commitment to endowing the Chair of Carbon Composites (LCC) at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), which began eight years ago.

The first team from the ANU to take part in the World Solar Challenge has received a major boost with MTAA Super, the $10 billion Canberra-based superannuation fund, joining the project as its naming sponsor.

ESA Space in Images Even the most complex of systems comes down to properly configured wires and cables, such as those pictured here on the Propulsion Qualification Model of the Orion service module.

As New Jersey drivers approach the George Washington Bridge to enter New York City, a digital sign flashes overhead with estimates of the delays on the upper and lower levels of the bridge.

Research news Often hundreds of rotors can be installed in a typical wind farm. A little known fact, however, is that the shadowing caused by the wind turbine rotors impacts the performance of neighboring turbines and reduces their lifespan.

Even today, cocoa pods are still harvested by hand. In order to relieve the farmers of this work and to reduce the risk of injury, the TUM's Chair of Product Development is developing a cocoa pod splitting machine.

Matthew Cavuto, now a senior in MIT's Department of Mechanical Engineering, embarked on his career path partly as a result of a talk he heard in high school by MIT Professor Hugh Herr, a double amput

AUSTIN, Texas - Engineers and scientists at The University of Texas at Austin and the AMOLF institute in the Netherlands have invented the first mechanical metamaterials that easily transfer motion effortlessly in one direction while blocking it in the other, as described in a paper published on Feb.

Most batteries are composed of two solid, electrochemically active layers called electrodes, separated by a polymer membrane infused with a liquid or gel electrolyte. But recent research has explored the possibility of all-solid-state batteries, in which the liquid (and potentially flammable) electrolyte would be replaced by a solid electrolyte, which could enhance the batteries' energy density and safety.

Research news Engineers at TUMCREATE in Singapore have developed an electric motor which can be easily attached to almost any bicycle, turning it into a pedelec (pedal electric cycle).

Fruit flies are capable of impressive aerial maneuvers, as is grudgingly acknowledged by anyone who has unsuccessfully tried to swat away one of the familiar kitchen pests. Interestingly, the flies perform these nimble evasive movements using only 12 flight muscles, each controlled by one brain cell, or neuron.

Research news The future of manufacturing belongs to Industry 4. Anyone not willing to accept it is seen as behind the times.

The Rt Hon Greg Clark MP, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, visited WMG, at the University of Warwick, on Friday 20 th January 2016, taking up an invitation to see f

They started with striped bass. Over a two-year period the researchers went through about 50 bass, puncturing or fracturing hundreds of fish scales under the microscope, to try to understand their properties and mechanics better.

Engineers at The University of Nottingham are developing lightweight automotive components using new additive manufacturing processes to boost vehicle fuel efficiency, while cutting noise and CO2 emissions.

Ketchup's sluggish pace as it oozes out of its bottle is a longstanding nuisance - but one that is about to be upended by a new product coming to market.

Trains are getting increasingly faster, but as Professor Hugh Hunt from the Department of Engineering explains, the 'super-fast hyperloop' could soon see them matching air travel fo speed.

Campus news It will be almost as fast as sound: the super-fast train of the future, also known as Hyperloop.

Garrett Parrish grew up singing and dancing as a theater kid, influenced by his older siblings, one of whom is an actor and the other a stage manager.

Research news Missions at sea, in mountainous regions or close to skyscrapers are extremely risky for helicopter pilots.

Low-frequency mechanical energy harvesting could provide as much as 40 percent of the power requirements for next generation smartphones and tablets.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory loomed large for Marlyse Reeves from an early age. Growing up in Pasadena, California, in JPL's backyard, Reeves developed a love of all things outer space, and the lab was a regular destination for school field trips.

New technology that could enhance both the electrical and thermal conductivity of conventional composite materials has been developed thanks to a collaboration between the Universities of Surrey and Bristol together with aerospace company Bombardier. Carbon fibre composites, composed of reinforcing carbon fibres within a plastic, have revolutionised industries that demand strong, yet light materials.

Campus news Starting in January 2017, the Syrian scientist Prof. Abdul Ghafoor Al-Shehabi will conduct research as a guest professor at the Institute of Flight System Dynamics at the Technical University of Munich (TUM).

Microelectromechanical systems, or MEMS, are tiny machines fabricated using equipment and processes developed for the production of electronic chips and devices.

The Factory for Advanced Manufacturing Education is a 10,000-squarefoot integrated high bay laboratory for teaching and research.

L-R: Professor Claudio Paoloni (Lancaster University); Professor Aamir Khalid (TWI); Dr Chris Dungey (TWI); Professor Stephen Decent (Lancaster University) Lancaster University is joining forces with TWI to create a new centre of excellence for smart and advanced manufacturing systems.

When human drivers retake control of an autonomous car, the transition could be problematic, depending on how conditions have changed since they were last at the wheel. There you are, cruising down the freeway, listening to some tunes and enjoying the view as your autonomous car zips and swerves through traffic.

WMG working to make vehicles more fuel efficient and cheaper with electrical systems Construction vehicles waste fuel by remaining on full power whilst idle New WMG technology can predict when machin

Three Cornell faculty members have been elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world's largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science.

Cool a material to sufficiently low temperatures and it will seek some form of collective order. Add quantum mechanics or confine the geometry and the states of matter that emerge can be exotic, including electrons whose spins arrange themselves in spirals, pinwheels, or crystals.

SAN DIEGO - Young adults diagnosed with ADHD may display subtle physiological signs that could lead to a more precise diagnosis, according to Penn State researchers. In a recent study, young adults with ADHD, when performing a continuous motor task, had more difficulty inhibiting a motor response compared to young adults who did not have ADHD.

UK and European aerospace research and technology leaders will discuss the technological innovations and skills needed to drive the sector forward at The University of Nottingham later this month.

Keoki Jackson, Chief Technology Officer for Lockheed Martin, looks on as Penn State Vice President for Research Neil Sharkey signs the Master Research Agreement, creating a new partnership with the global security and aerospace company.

Rolf Reitz is a pioneer when it comes to internal combustion engines. The foundations he has laid have led to cleaner, more efficient engines.

ESA Space in Images It's welding, but not as we know it. Only a bare sliver of glowing metal is visible during this 'friction stir welding'.

New facility reveals atomic details, spurs discoveries with global value Posted October 28, 2016; 11:45 a.m. by Adam Hadhazy for the Office of Engineering In pursuit of computers that h

Sade Nabahe's time at MIT has been defined by engineering projects that help people around the globe with everyday problems.

For two Cornell engineering professors, the International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory is basically a high-powered microscope attached to a super-slow-motion camera, some 250 miles above the Earth.

Campus news Two spin-offs of the Technical University Munich (TUM) are among the winners of the start-up contest "Weconomy": Cevotec is bringing a new technology to market that makes the production of carbon components more efficient.

Work by UCLA-led engineers could dramatically improve imaging, sensing and communication applications Matthew Chin A research team led by UCLA electrical engineers has developed an artificial composi

Quick. Can you recall the correct hand signals used by cyclists to denote a left or right turn? Even if you can, chances are those motions aren't that clear if you're driving a car in traffic.

Software Update Could Add New Interface Capabilities Thanks to new functionality developed by Human-Computer Interaction Institute researchers, smartwatches can recognize objects and activities by monitoring vibrations that occur when people hold objects or use tools.

The first ever Cybathlon took place a week ago in the sold-out Swiss Arena in Kloten. Founder Robert Riener takes stock.