Soft robotics research offers new route for weaving soft materials into 3D spatial structures

Embracing Virtually: How Digital Interactions Mirror the Warmth of Real-World Hugs

Summary: The concept of “digital hugs” challenges the way we think about physical vs. online interactions. Recent research investigates how the feelings and experiences surrounding a hug can be translated…

Norway opens world’s biggest floating wind park

The turbines of Hywind Tampen wind farm are built on floating platforms that are anchored to the seabed. Norway inaugurated the world’s biggest floating wind park in the North Sea…

Why Our Brains Prefer Symbols to Words

Summary: Research reveals symbols are more memorable than words. This novel study dives into our brain’s knack for recalling graphic symbols and logos over their word counterparts. Symbols, offering visual…

Coffee grounds offer performance boost for concrete

Researchers develop ultracompact sensing system for gas detection using a smartphone

Acetone vapor-sensing experiments using the integrated system: (a) smartphone user interface for (i) function menu, (ii) frequency scanning, (iii) resonance tracking, and (iv) user-defined PID parameter setting; (b) photograph of…

Is Childhood Adversity A Lens for Moral Judgments?

Summary: Researchers uncovered how a person’s childhood adversity shapes others’ judgments of their actions. The study reveals that people perceive negative actions by those with challenging childhoods as less a…

Engineers use kirigami to make ultrastrong, lightweight structures

MIT researchers used kirigami, the art of Japanese paper cutting and folding, to develop ultrastrong, lightweight materials that have tunable mechanical properties, like stiffness and flexibility. These materials could be…

Advancing trajectory tracking control of pneumatic artificial muscle-based systems

Amazon fined again by WA safety regulators over warehouse work

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Washington’s Department of Labor and Industries has cited a fourth Amazon warehouse, accusing the company of knowingly putting workers at risk of injury. L&I issued $85,800…