Articles by Andrea Alfano
How Does Sunscreen Work And What Does SPF Mean?
Many consumers don’t know how to properly interpret sunscreen labels, according to a new study. Skin protection is not all about about the SPF.
Wrapping Wires In Graphene Could Help Scientists Create Smaller, Faster Chips
Researchers found that graphene, that one-atom-thick wonder, makes an excellent coating for the wires found in electronic chips. Wires coated in graphene were able to function at speeds as much as 30 percent greater than those achieve with currently used coatings.
DARPA Funds Research To Engineer Bacterial Assassins That Target Stomach Bugs
Traveler’s stomach is a drag when you’re away on vacation, but the consequences are more serious for the military. To combat stomach bugs, DARPA is funding research to engineer bacteria such as E. coli that can go to battle in the gut.
Documentary Chronicles Dean Kamen's Quest To Solve World’s Water Crisis With ‘SlingShot’ Device
Legendary inventor Dean Kamen has created a device he dubbed ‘SlingShot’ that can make even poisoned water potable. Tech Times sat down with director Paul Lazarus to learn more about the film.
RockPaperRobot Is Making Furniture That Captures The Wonders Of Physics
Jessica Banks, founder and CEO of the engineering and design firm RockPaperRobot, uses her training in robotics to develop products that go beyond the traditional role of furniture.
Podmasters: 5 Great Science Podcasts You Should Be Listening To Now
Podmasters is a weekly column where staff writers Andrea Alfano and Laura Rosenfeld highlight the podcasts you need in your life. Each week they tackle a new genre, and this week the spotlight is on science.
Large Study Provides Further Evidence That Chocolate Lowers Risk Of Heart Disease
Researchers tracked the health and chocolate-eating habits of tens of thousands of adults for more than a decade and found that chocolate-eaters tend to have healthier hearts. The findings contribute to a growing body of evidence suggesting that eating chocolate can reduce risk of heart disease.
One-Atom Thick Graphene Light Source Could Pave The Way To Flexible And Transparent Displays
A group of scientists has figured out how to get graphene to emit bright, visible light. They also demonstrated a way to scale the technology up enough to be commercially viable for use in digital device displays.
Scientists Are Color-Coding Forests To Make Maps Showing Best Path To Conservation
The Carnegie Airborne Observatory is a specialized twin-engine airplane that allows scientists to make maps of forests that are colored to reflect levels of certain chemicals in the forest canopy. These details help scientists identify critical targets for conservation.
Female Scientists Take To Twitter To Show Tim Hunt How #DistractinglySexy They Are
Earlier this week, Nobel laureate Tim Hunt described his 'trouble with girls' at the World Conference of Science Journalists in South Korea. These female scientists have come up with a brilliant way to show Hunt the trouble with his sexist attitude.
Nanotechnology Makes It Possible To Print Extremely Bright Colors Without Using Ink
Researchers at Missouri University of Science and Technology demonstrated a new technique for printing without using ink to print a nanoscale version of the school’s athletic logo. The colors they created are extremely bright because of their structure at the nanoscale, which is similar to the that seen in many birds and butterfly.
Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti Sets Space Stay Record For Women And European Space Agency
Italian astronaut returns to Earth with two new records attached to her name. No woman or European astronaut has ever spent as much time in space on a single uninterrupted mission as she has.
Amazon Web Services Announces Plan To Build Massive Solar Farm In Virginia
Internet giant Amazon Web Services announced a plan to build the largest solar farm in the state of Virginia to further its recent commitment to renewable energy. The plant will provide power to the company’s data centers.
Brain Activity Reveals That Crows Can Count
Crows were able to tell whether groups contain the same number of objects. Analysis of the birds’ brain activity shows that they process information about numbers in a manner similar to primates.
‘Gravitational Lens’ Magnifies Images Of Stars Being Born To Reveal Unprecedented Details
The ALMA telescope has captured the most detailed images yet of star formation. A phenomenon known as gravitational lensing made the images possible.
NASA Teams Up With Mayo Clinic To Treat Brain Disorders Using Nanotechnology
Four years of collaboration between two organizations with seemingly unrelated missions has yielded a new medical device that could change the way doctors use deep brain stimulation. Currently, the treatment is mainly effective for Parkinson’s, but carbon nanofiber pads could open opportunities for treating other brain disorders via this method.
New Tool Accurately Predicts Risk Of Death In Year Following Hospital Admission
A new statistical model allows researchers to predict risk of death in the year after a patient is admitted to a hospital using routinely collected data. The tool could be used in developing new treatments as well as in assessing quality of care.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Doctor: How Humans May Soon Be Able To Save Lives Using Silk
For the first time, scientists can spin silk in the lab without raising spiders. The new silk-spinning device could allow resarchers to create silk with properties not found in natural spider silk, including some with major medical applications.
Astronaut Shakes Hands With Someone On Earth From Space
A new space-to-ground communication system allows astronauts to ‘feel’ objects that are hundreds of kilometers away. Years of research went into making this historic handshake possible.
Strange New Dinosaur Species Discovered, Nicknamed ‘Hellboy’ By Scientists
After a long, difficult excavation saga, a new species of dinosaur was unveiled for display at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology in Alberta, Canada. It's a close relative of Triceratops, but its bizarre feature surprised scientists.
No Scientific Evidence Behind Claims That Eating Placenta Improves Health
The idea that moms can gain health benefits from eating their placentas after birth has given rise to new health fad. However, a review of the scientific literature turned up no evidence for such claims.
Software Reads Facial Expressions To Monitor Kids’ Pain While In Hospital
Pain in children often goes unnoticed because they lack the skills to communicate it. New computer software could eliminate the need for self-reporting pain by reading it directly from the child’s face.
Why Sunlight Causes Sneezing In Almost One-Third Of Population
A not-so-rare genetic condition causes some people to sneeze upon exposure to bright light. Experts suspect this bizarre phenomenon is the result of crossed wires in the brain.
Fish Proves That Wild Animals Can Have 'Virgin Births'
Smalltooth sawfish are the most endangered marine fish in the world. The discovery of sawfish with no genetic material from a father suggests that female sawfish reproduce all on their own when they can’t find a mate.
Wearing Contact Lenses Alters The Eye's Bacterial Communities
A new study found that contact lens wearers have more bacteria linked to corneal ulcers than nonwearers. Understanding the changes that contacts cause in the eye’s bacterical community could help prevent infections.
Listening To Specific Sounds While Sleeping Can Reduce Race And Gender Biases
Unconscious social biases are still rampant in our society, but a new study suggests that sleep is an effective target for reversing them. Administering interventions during sleep produced significant, lasting effects.
What Does A Martian Aurora Look Like?
The red planet sports dashes of red, blue and green in its atmosphere when auroras occur. Research suggests that some of the light of Martian auroras is visible.
Watch These Broken Robots Learn How To Walk Again All On Their Own (Video)
Robots can now learn to function in the face of damage without the help of a human. A new computer algorithm could help robots save lives in dangerous situations.
Graphene Gets A Step Closer To Actually Being Useful With 3D-Printed Antenna
Buzz about graphene abounds, but the material has yet to show up in commercial products. A new method for creating graphene-based antennas could lead to one of the material's first commercial applications.
Beautifully Broad: 6 Incredibly Diverse Applications Of Mathematician John Nash’s Ideas
John Nash, the inspiration for the film ‘A Beautiful Mind,’ is well-known for his contributions to economics. But his ideas were so big they have made a mark in fields as varied as quantum physics, evolutionary biology and public health.
