Roach Broach
Cockroaches may soon do more for humans than raiding our cupboards and skittering across our floors. Researchers are equipping the bugs with microphones and intend to release swarms of them in disaster zones to locate survivors. Electric fences will make sure they stay on the job.
Uranus Revealed
Researcher Erich Karkoschka took a new approach to 28-year-old Voyager 2 images of Uranus’s southern hemisphere. Through manipulation of contrast and other modifications, Karkoschka revealed hidden features of the planetary region once thought fairly bland. Scientists can now tell that patches of wind move against the larger currents, and hidden structures may exist within the distant gas giant.
BioDrone’s Fungal Body
With more people using drones in precarious situations, waste from crashes might soon proliferate into a real problem. A team of researchers built a drone with a biodegradable body built almost entirely of mushroom-like fungus, which leaves far less of a trace behind. But how does it taste on pizza? Full article by Kelsey Atherton.
Wow! Philae’s First Photo
This first-ever image from a comet’s surface shows a steep cliff, with one of the probe’s feet in the foreground. As of this writing, Philae’s handlers are trying a risky maneuver to right the mis-landed lander. Follow this post for updates.
Frigid Friday
A massive mid-fall polar surge has made its way into the heartland, dropping temperatures across much of the United States. With cold weather expected to stick around for at least a couple weeks, we looked into how much Arctic air Americans can expect in the future.
Iranian Mimic
Iran claims to have constructed a stealth drone by reverse-engineering a downed American model. We examine the evidence.
