Soft Exoskeleton Shirt Weighs Less Than 2 Pounds But Can Help the Wearer Lift 35
South Korean engineers have developed a soft, shirt-like exoskeleton to give individuals with degenerative muscle conditions more mobility and independence. Costing thousands less than hard, motor-driven exoskeletons, and weighing less than 2 pounds, it’s a game-changing innovation in the field of robotics. Built by the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials, it consists of a […]
World’s Most Northern Electric Ferry Now Sailing in Frigid -13°F Temps (-25°C)
An all-electric passenger/car ferry in northern Norway has proven that brain-disabling cold can’t affect its service, despite running entirely on batteries. Whatever technology was encased within the batteries of our parents’ cars that would see them suffer in the cold is not what powers the M/F Vargsund, which links the two islands of Kvaløya and Seiland […]
Toronto Man Tries to Make Public Transportation Less Lonely: ‘Little Gestures Can Shift the Whole Mood’
In Toronto, one man and his glasses are making the city a friendlier place by wishing people a great week, or even just outrightly declaring to whoever he sees that they make the world a better place. Minjae Cho is once just like thousands of other Torontonians: he took the bus and the subway, went […]
Secrets of 800-year-old Chinese Mummy’s Excellent Preservation Revealed
A team of Chinese scientists recently conducted a DNA analysis and autopsy of a 13th century Song Dynasty nobleman who was embalmed not unlike an ancient Egyptian. The quality of the preservation was such that, if the reader can bear the thought, his mortal remains emitted a pleasant fragrance 800 years after his entombment. But […]
How Mississippi Moved from the Bottom to the Top in Student Reading Achievement Scores
You won’t find a more literate bunch of 4th graders anywhere in the nation than if you go and stand in a Mississippi elementary school. Over the last few years, the Magnolia state has risen from 49th in the country for 4th grade reading level to number 1 in both reading and math at the […]
Divers Rescue Ray Tangled in Deadly Fishing Line–Once Freed, Encircled Them with a ‘Thank you’
Underwater photographers and free divers recently rescued a mobula ray tangled in a rope while being circled by sharks. After swimming away, the injured ray unexpectedly returned, circling the divers in what they described as a “thank you” moment. The mobula ray was trapped more than 30 feet below the surface, completely wrapped in rope […]
Mummified Cheetahs Discovered in Saudi Arabia Show How the Country Could Bring The Cats Back
Between 2022 and 2023, scientists in Saudi Arabia began a survey of over 1,000 caves, hoping to find preserved remains of ancient animals to infer modern rewilding strategies. Whatever modest results they might have allowed themselves to hope for, they almost certainly would not have expected to find 7 naturally mummified cheetah skeletons. They had […]
One Glacier Is Actually Growing–and Perplexed Scientists Hope to Discover its Secrets
Over the decades, a glacier in Central Asia appears to have been growing when almost every other glacier on Earth has been shrinking. Now, a scientific expedition has recovered ice cores containing 30,000 years of frozen water in the hopes that somewhere inside lies some indication of how we can help these rivers of ice […]
First Solar Power Plant in Kyrgyzstan Will Save 120,000 Tons of Carbon Emissions Every Year
On Christmas Eve, the Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan inaugurated its first solar power plant, one that will power a small city and cut 120,000 tons of CO2 emissions annually. The 100-megawatt installation will generate 210 million kWh of clean electricity annually, and represents one of the largest foreign investments into the country of any […]
Sunken Medieval Cargo Ship Found–The Largest Vessel of Its Kind Ever Found
For 600 years, the waters off Copenhagen have hidden an exceptional secret. Now, maritime archaeologists from the Viking Ship Museum in Denmark reveal the discovery of the world’s largest “cog,” a medieval cargo ship whose size and previously unknown construction details offer new insight into the maritime technology and trade networks of the Middle Ages. […]