> Sensor-equipped construction helmet can detect carbon monoxide
Research calling for the use of a wearable computing system installed in a helmet to protect construction workers from carbon monoxide poisoning, a serious lethal threat in this industry, has garnered the Virginia Tech investigators a Best Paper Award from a prestigious scientific and engineering community.
> How footprint recognition software may help zoology
Studying animal behavior in the wild usually starts with figuring out just where the wild animals are hiding. Field biologists can use a combination of methods—radio collars, aerial surveys, and camera traps—to remotely monitor animal movement. However, to an expert eye, a well-preserved footprint can also reveal a surprising amount about an animal—its species, gender, age, even its individual identity.
> Learn about the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on the Google Cultural Institute
This August marks the 68th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II. Working together with the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum, we’ve launched seven new online exhibits on the Google Cultural Institute that help tell the story of the two cities and their tragic fate.
At €2,50,000, the burger produced recently using meat cultured in a lab is probably the world’s most expensive sandwich. But it marks a major milestone in the long pursuit by a few scientists to grow meat in vitro.
> Half of 2011 papers now free to read
Search the Internet for any research article published in 2011, and you have a 50–50 chance of downloading it for free. This claim — made in a report produced for the European Commission — suggests that many more research papers are openly available online than was previously thought. The finding, released on 21 August, is heartening news for advocates of open access. But some experts are raising their eyebrows at the high numbers.
> Mars Opportunity rover goes camping to sit out long, harsh Red Planet winter
The festival season may be drawing to a close here on Earth but on Mars, NASA's Opportunity rover is getting into the spirit by bedding down in a campsite - for the whole winter.
In order for the robot to survive it has been parked on a north-facing slope called Solander Point so its solar-panels are pointed towards the Sun for an extra boost in power.
> Iron in Egyptian relics came from space
The 5,000-year-old iron bead might not look like much, but it hides a spectacular past: researchers have found that an ancient Egyptian trinket is made from a meteorite.
