Search
2014
Power from thin air
Mobile devices need energy – lots of it. Instead of focussing only on improving battery performance, some scientists are looking at the ambient energy that is all around us.
The other wonder gas
By being the first to extract methane hydrates last year, Japan has launched a new global race.
To frack or not to frack
Can America’s shale-gas revolution be repeated in Europe? The furore over earthquakes and chemicals has obscured more important issues.
Here comes the graphene revolution
The EU has committed €1 billion to this revolutionary new material. What are the challenges, what are the promises?
Bacteria, on your plate
Already sold in health-food stores as nutritional supplements, micro-organisms could help feed the world if prices came down.
It’s food, but not as you know it
From lab-hatched eggs to caterpillar croquettes, the food of the future may not be familiar, but that doesn’t mean it won’t taste good.
The power of thought
An amazing project may enable paralysed humans to walk again, with the help of an exoskeleton controlled directly by their thoughts.
“New social norms will have to be accepted”
The latest portable technology will connect humans from head to toe. But it could also endanger both our safety and our social lives, warns Wijnand IJsselsteijn.
“Getting the story out is more important than getting it right”
Cleverly manipulated Internet buzz can be more effective than an expensive marketing campaign. Marketing expert Ryan Holiday reveals some of his tricks.