Communications, features and articles | Educational Science

Sep 11, 2013

Phone Sensors Could Meld with Human Body

Microscopic sensors and motors in smartphones detect movement, and could one day help their cameras focus. Now scientists have devised components for these machines that are compatible with the human body, potentially making them ideal for use in medical devices such as bionic limbs and other artificial body parts, researchers...

Sep 23, 2013

Digital Parenting: More Technology Means More Work

Cellphones, tablets, video games and computers — the average youngster has logged thousands of hours on digital technologies by the time they leave home. And all these technologies have changed the way parents do their jobs. Though digital technology allows parents to entertain or keep tabs on their youngsters, for...

Oct 1, 2013

Accelerometers: What They Are & How They Work

When you use a compass app on your smartphone, it somehow knows which direction the phone is pointing. With stargazing apps, it somehow knows where in the sky you’re looking to properly display constellations. Smartphones and other mobile technology identify their orientation through the use of an accelerator, a small...

Oct 3, 2013

Smartphone-Controlled Brewbot Gets aHead with Kickstarter

A craft-beer-brewing robot that can be controlled by a smartphone has garnered about $100,000 from 195 backers on online crowdfunder Kickstarter. On its Kickstarter page, the Brewbot is described as an easy-to-use, controlled environment that is aesthetically pleasing, and frees up brewers to focus on the recipes. You don't need...

Oct 21, 2013

How Twitter Fans Kept NASA Alive During the US Shutdown (Op-Ed)

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Now that the US government is back in business, all “non-essential” services will resume. For 15 days we went without NASA’s full operation, US Antarctic research and federally-funded clinical studies....

Nov 22, 2013

Seeking a Russian Silicon Valley (Op-Ed)

Nikolai Nikiforov, minister of Communications and Mass Media for the Russian Federation, contributed this article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. With more Internet users than anyplace else in Europe, Russia is not exactly a newcomer to the digital superhighway. But a new information technology (IT) roadmap approved by...

Nov 27, 2013

'Warriors 4 Wireless' Program Helps Vets Find Tech Industry Jobs

A new nonprofit program aims to help veterans and returning service members find jobs in wireless telecommunications, as part of a broader goal to have 5,000 vets employed in the expanding industry by the year 2015, according to officials from the Department of Defense. The White House Office of Science...

Dec 2, 2013

Health Check: Is Your Personal Music Player Doing You Damage?(Op-Ed)

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. It’s happened to all of us – you walk past someone and you can hear every beat, riff and wail coming from their headphones. If you’ve ever wondered whether this...

Dec 5, 2013

Metals in Your Smartphone Have No Substitutes (Op-Ed)

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. A few centuries ago, there were just a few widely used materials: wood, brick, iron, copper, gold and silver. Today’s material diversity is astounding. A chip in your smartphone, for...

Dec 6, 2013

Will Your Next Phone Be Fair Trade? (Op-Ed)

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Organic, cage-free or home-grown? We think about our purchasing ethics in many areas of daily life, but not often about technology. As with any product, though, we should think about...

Dec 15, 2013

Tracking the World's E-Waste (Infographic)

The U.S. and China produce more total e-waste than any other country, according to a new map that tracks e-waste around the world. (Image credit: Ross Toro, Infographic Artist) ...

Dec 19, 2013

Communicating Underground Via Chemical Signals

A new molecular communications system could beam messages and data underground, underwater or inside the body, where other forms of communication aren't practical. Plants and animals use molecular signaling all the time, from sweet-smelling flowers to insect pheromones. Bees, for example, use pheromones — signaling chemicals among animals — to...

Dec 22, 2013

High-Tech Santa: 5 Devices to Give Old St. Nick a Boost

Every year, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) tracks Santa Claus' location on Christmas Eve, to the delight of millions who visit the military's website that night. If a high-tech military operation can track Santa, couldn't technology also give the jolly old elf a hand in finishing his rounds?...

Jan 9, 2014

Explainer: After 4G, Why Do We Need 5G Phones?

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Mobile phone users in some nations are just beginning to upgrade to the latest in 4G technology. So it is perhaps surprising to learn that the industry is already working...

Feb 4, 2014

Facebook 10 Years Later: A Look Back

Ten years ago today, (Feb. 4) Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook from his dorm room at Harvard University. Since then, that little startup has become the most popular social network in the world with more than 1 billion users. In the decade since launching, Facebook has changed almost every aspect of...