October 2012: The Brilliant Ten

October 2012

Features

Ocean Power

When the Navy needs to surprise and overwhelm an inland enemy, it can send in the new Zumwalt-class destroyer—the most technologically advanced warship ever built By Clay Dillow

Out Of The Wild

Where will the next pandemic come from? And how can we stop it? By David Quammen

• Plus: How to Stop a Pandemic

They Said It Couldn't Be Done!

The quest for human-powered flight By Rebecca Boyle

The Brilliant Ten

Our 11th annual celebration of young researchers whose innovations will change the world By Mara Grunbaum, Elizabeth Svoboda, Kalee Thompson, Abe Streep, Paul Kvinta, Lauren Aaronson and Tom Clynes

• Adam Cohen Lights Up Neurons to See How They Fire
• Deva Ramanan Trains Computers to Identify People
• Christy Haynes Reveals the Secrets of the Body's Blood-Clotting System
• Anže Slosar Maps Matter at the Edge of the Universe
• Greg Nielson Shrinks Solar Cells to the Size of Glitter
• Andrea Thomaz Teaches Robots to Learn from Humans
• Shawn Douglas Programs DNA Nanorobots to Kill Cancer
• Mohamed El-Naggar Hot-Wires Bacteria to Build Semiconductors
• Aydogan Ozcan Turns Smartphones into Medical Devices
• Edwin Olson Creates an Autonomous Robot Army

What's New

• The Goods: October 2012's Hottest Gadgets
  
• The World's Steadiest Binoculars
• Cadillac’s Tiniest Car is Also One of its Most Technologically Advanced
• The New Windows Allows Consumers to Replace Their PCs With Tablets
• Play Backyard Football Like a Pro
• How The Nexus Q Could Change the Way People Play

Headlines

• Can We Reengineer Ourselves to Cope With the Effects of Climate Change?
• A Restaurant With Adjustable Acoustics
• Rough Sketch: "We Made a Robot That Moves Like a Person"
• PopSci Q&A: The Quest For The Egg-Free Egg
• An Antennae Array Designed for the Dark Side of the Moon
• What If We Could Upgrade The Internet as Fast as We Upgrade The Gadgets it Connects?

How 2.0

• You Built What?!: A Tesla Coil Gun That Produces Foot-Long Sparks
• Turn an Android Device Into a Pocket-Size Media Center
• Gray Matter: Playing With Fire
• Ask a Geek: How Can I Permanently Delete My Computer Files?
• Website of the Month: Coolendar.com
• The Bed That Uses Robotic Arms to Make Itself

FYI

• FYI: Why Does Cheese Taste Better When It's Melted?
• FYI: What Kind of Gas Mileage Can You Get From a Naval Warship?

Megapixels

• Megapixels: The James Webb Space Telescope Gets Chilled to 400 Degrees Below Zero