Just one twister can cause devastation. But when outbreaks bring dozens of tornadoes over days, they can leave a path of death and destruction across vast regions. And new research shows tornado outbreaks are getting more dangerous: More tornadoes are hitting during each round, even though the overall annual number of American twisters hasn’t changed. Scientists aren’t sure yet if there’s a climate change connection, or whether things will continue to get worse. ...read more
Sample Drill
Like the Mars Curiosity rover, AREE’s drill would let scientists see into Venus’ interior — and past.
Wind Turbine
Venus’ winds would spin AREE’s fan blades, generating energy that’s stored in a spring.
Seismometer
Astronomers know little about Venus’ interior, and that impedes our understanding of how planets form. So one prime objective is to set up “Earth’s Twin” with a seismometer, which measures geologic activity. ...read more
A band of Seattle computer scientists is on a mission to make artificial intelligence actually intelligent.
Nestled among Seattle’s gleaming lights on a gloomy September day, a single nonprofit wants to change the world, one computer at a time. Its researchers hope to transform the way machines perceive the world: to have them not only see it, but understand what they’re seeing. At the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence (AI2), researchers are working on just that. AI2, ...read more
Diary of a Citizen Scientist: Chasing Tiger Beetles and other New Ways of Engaging the World by Sharman Apt Russell. Oregon State University Press. 2014.
From the very first pages, Russell’s diary pulls the reader into experience. Vivid descriptions, lively metaphors, and breathless narrative bring together her diary entries into a larger story of becoming a scientist. Russell and her tiger beetles are revealed within her first entry—these are indeed the main characters in the ...read more
The hum of insects pollinating plants could one day be joined by a decidedly different buzz.
Researchers from the Nanomaterials Research Institute in Japan have developed a system for transferring pollen between plants using a tiny commercial drone armed with an adhesive gel. They say that their sticky drone solution could one day help ailing pollinator populations ensure crops keep having sex.
Helping Plants Get It On
For their artificial Cupid they used an off-th ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine
