Engineering

Thwarting the cleverest attackers
In the last 10 years, cryptography researchers have demonstrated that even the most secure-seeming computer is shockingly vulnerable to attack. The time it takes a computer to store data in memory, fluctuations in its power consumption and even the noises it emits can betray information to a savvy assailant.

Clean drinking water for everyone
Nearly 80 percent of disease in developing countries is linked to bad water and sanitation. Now a scientist at Michigan Technological University has developed a simple, cheap way to make water safe to drink, even if it's muddy.

World's largest digital camera project passes critical milestone
A 3.2 billion-pixel digital camera designed by SLAC is now one step closer to reality. The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope camera, which will capture the widest, fastest and deepest view of the night sky ever observed, has received "Critical Decision 1" approval by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to move into the next stage of the project.

Robots fighting wars could be blamed for mistakes on the battlefield
As militaries develop autonomous robotic warriors to replace humans on the battlefield, new ethical questions emerge. If a robot in combat has a hardware malfunction or programming glitch that causes it to kill civilians, do we blame the robot, or the humans who created and deployed it?

Opening the gate to robust quantum computing
Scientists have overcome a major hurdle facing quantum computing: how to protect quantum information from degradation by the environment while simultaneously performing computation in a solid-state quantum system. The research was reported in the April 5 issue of Nature.

Handheld plasma flashlight rids skin of bacteria instantly
A group of Chinese and Australian scientists, including CSIRO, have developed a handheld, battery-powered plasma-producing device that can rid skin of bacteria in an instant.

Newfangled space-propulsion technology could help clean up Earth orbit
Some of the most valuable "real estate" for humans isn't on Earth at all but rather above the planet's atmosphere, where all manner of human-made objects orbit. The problem is that those orbits are too crowded with dead satellites and debris, making new launches riskier.

Chips as mini Internets
Computer chips have stopped getting faster. In order to keep increasing chips' computational power at the rate to which we've grown accustomed, chipmakers are instead giving them additional "cores," or processing units.

Sulfur in every pore
From smartphones to e-bikes, the number of mobile electronic devices is steadily growing around the world. As a result, there is an increased need for batteries that are small and light, yet powerful.

The 'living' micro-robot that could detect diseases in humans
A tiny prototype robot that functions like a living creature is being developed which one day could be safely used to pinpoint diseases within the human body.