The Ig Nobel prize round-up 2022

As we reach the end of yet another year, it’s time again to do my annual write-up of this year’s Ig Nobel Prizes. Once again, ten prizes have been given out for research that is funny, odd, or just a bit different. And with no further ado, the winners are: Applied Cardiology – Eliska Prochazkova, … Continue reading The Ig Nobel prize round-up 2022 →

New gloves train surgeons

Becoming a surgeon takes a lot of time and practice, and it’s important for trainee doctors to know that they’re building the right habits. Engineers from Western Sydney University are hoping to help, by creating gloves that can track the wearer’s movements. Currently the only way to train a new surgeon is to have an … Continue reading New gloves train surgeons →

Eyes make self-driving cars safer

It’s hoped self-driving cars will make roads safer for their passengers, but what about pedestrians? Japanese scientists have recently experimented with one way of protecting people on foot – adding big eyes. When you’re deciding whether to cross the road, like at a pedestrian crossing, it helps to know whether approaching drivers have seen you. … Continue reading Eyes make self-driving cars safer →

Tiny crab leads the way in miniature robotics

Miniature robots could solve many problems in the future, from surgery to engineering. But before we can put them to work, we need to figure out a way to control such small machines. The key to this may be found in a tiny remote-controlled crab. Created by engineers at Northwestern University in America, the crab … Continue reading Tiny crab leads the way in miniature robotics →

Scientists 3D print brain tumours

3D printing generally uses metal or plastic, but it isn’t limited to these materials. Chocolate, pasta and ash are among the stranger ingredients that have been printed, but none are as weird as a recent development – 3D printed brain tumours. As anyone who’s gone through treatment can confirm, killing cancer is currently very difficult; … Continue reading Scientists 3D print brain tumours →

The Ig Nobel Prize round-up 2020

It’s once again time to celebrate the Ig Nobel Prizes, the awards for “achievements that make people laugh, then think”. On the 17th of September, ten prizes were awarded in an online ceremony – here’s who won, and why. Acoustics – Stephan Reber, Takeshi Nishimura, Judith Janisch, Mark Robertson & Tecumseh Fitch Inhaling helium to … Continue reading The Ig Nobel Prize round-up 2020 →

Coloured cotton: A rainbow of possibilities

Imagine you’re travelling through farmland and you come across a paddock filled with bright pink fluff. Then you see another with blue plants, followed by a completely orange crop. This might actually happen one day, thanks to the recent Australian invention of coloured cotton. Cotton is a fluffy white crop that produces the world’s most … Continue reading Coloured cotton: A rainbow of possibilities →

The power of the dark side (of the solar panel)

“A lot of people think that shadows are useless,” says Singaporean scientist Swee Ching Tan. But his newest creation proves that “anything can be useful, even shadows.” Solar power is a common source of renewable energy, but it needs direct sunlight. Lots of places, like cities, are too shadowy for solar panels to work. This … Continue reading The power of the dark side (of the solar panel) →

The amazing electric bacteria: power out of thin air

When looking to invent a new technology, often the best approach is to copy or steal from nature. This even applies to electronics, as shown by researchers from America. They’re using bacteria to generate electricity out of the air itself. The Geobacter variety of bacteria produces a type of protein ‘nanowire’ that is able to … Continue reading The amazing electric bacteria: power out of thin air →

It’s not easy seeing green

For most of us, red and green are incredibly different colours. However, many people with colour-blindness find them almost impossible to tell apart. This is the problem that a new design of contact lens is aiming to solve. The most common type of colour-blindness is called deuteranomaly (dyoo-ter-an-om-al-ee), commonly referred to as red-green colour-blindness. People … Continue reading It’s not easy seeing green →