NEW TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE NEWS

There are now a number of materials designed to give robots or prostheses a sense of touch. And while most of them are thin and skin-like, a new alternative takes the form of a spongey foam – and it combines several desirable qualities.

Ever since the 1890s, cricket bats have been made of willow wood. According to a new study, however, bamboo bats should offer better performance and a lower environmental footprint, plus they could make the sport more accessible to poor countries.

More than 40 years after launch, Voyager 1 is still making new discoveries. The latest achievement by the craft is the detection of a faint, plasma “hum,” indicating that there may be more activity in interstellar gas than previously thought.

Late last year, we caught up with accomplished Italian guitar player Luca Stricagnoli to take a closer look at his novel slide guitar attachment prototype. Now the Reversed Slide Neck has undergone some modification ahead of upcoming production.

The eVolo Skyscraper Competition is one of the most thought-provoking contests around. Small on detail, but big on wild ideas, this year's winners include GM trees that serves as a living skyscraper and a water collecting tower.

Researchers in Israel have demonstrated a creative potential solution to the rise of superbugs with a set of "molecular tweezers" that can pick apart the protective film of bacteria, freeing the way for the human immune system to go to work.

If you haven't yet started your new year's resolution to learn a new language in 2021, there's still plenty of time — it's still early enough in the year. Take on a new language (or up to 14) with Babbel, now 60% off for a limited time.

Scientists are taking inspiration from recent advances in human microbiome research to investigate how transplantations of helpful bacteria can help increase heat tolerance in vulnerable coral species, with some promising early results.

A study from the University of Oxford has analyzed 30 years of data tracking the relationship between young peoples’ technology engagement and mental health, from television watching to smartphone social media use, and found little to no association.

The skin is the body’s first line of defense against infection, and new research has brought us closer to understanding how it works. Researchers at Yale have identified how immune cells spread themselves out to maintain the most effective patrol.

Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL) has won an £800-million (US$1.1-billion) contract from the Ministry of Defence to upgrade 148 of the British Army's Cold War era Challenger 2 Main Battle Tanks to Challenger 3 specifications by 2027.

NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter has successfully flown for the fifth time. The autonomous rotorcraft lifted off from Wright Brothers Field in Jezero Crater for a 108-second flight that took it on a one-way trip to a new airfield 423 ft to the south.