4 Awesome Discoveries You Probably Didn't Hear About This Week

Hydrogen from industrial waste, gripping shrinkage, urban heat archipelagos, and shedding ice Ice-proof coating for big structures University of Michigan City trees can offset neighborhood heat islands University of Wisconsin-Madison Memorial University of Newfoundland Harnessing sunlight to pull hydrogen from wastewater Princeton University, University of Colorado Boulder San Diego State University Idaho National Laboratory National Renewable Energy Laboratory Shrink films get a grip North Carolina State University Auburn University

Copper lights the way, nano delivers for osteoarthritis, machine learning fast tracks a gene hunt and new tech breaks through sign language barriers. It's "4 Awesome Discoveries You Probably Didn't Hear About This Week."

Volcano music and other rockin' EARTH SCIENCE stories! It's 4 Awesome Discoveries You Probably Didn't Hear About! WHO DID THE RESEARCH? Volcanologist jams to the beat of the Earth's drummer https://around.uoregon.edu/content/volcanologist-jams-beat-earths-drummer University of Oregon Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University Geoscientists create deeper look at processes below Earth’s surface with 3D images https://www.utdallas.edu/news/science-technology/geoscientists-add-deeper-dimension-to-study-of-areas-below-earths-surface University of Texas at Dallas Fiber Optic Seismic Array in Pasadena Tracked the Rose Parade https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/fiber-optic-seismic-array-pasadena-tracks-rose-parade The California Institute of Technology OptaSense Inc. University of Alcalá and Spanish National Research Council in Spain New tool for identifying endangered corals could help conservation efforts https://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=301169 The Pennsylvania State University NOAA Restoration Center University of North Carolina Wilmington

Can earthquakes be predicted? Can robots assist in HAZMAT disasters? How can wildfires be prevented? How can we stop flooding? It's research to the rescue: Smart Walls, robot responders, wildfire cocktail & seismic signs! And it's all here in episode 42 of "4 Awesome Discoveries You Probably Didn’t Hear About." WHO DID THE RESEARCH? Smart Walls Construction https://www.smartwallsconstruction.com Dr. Jorge Cueto and Anthony Nesci How Squishy Robotics created a robot that can be safely dropped out of a helicopter https://techcrunch.com/2019/04/18/how-squishy-robotics-created-an-robot-that-can-be-safely-dropped-out-of-a-helicopter Squishy Robotics, Inc, https://squishy-robotics.com UC Berkeley, Berkeley Emergent Space Tensegrities Lab Wildfire Rx: Where medical science meets wildfire prevention Dr. Eric Andrew Appel and Dr. Anthony Yu, Stanford University LaderaTECH, https://www.ladera.tech Perimeter Solutions, https://perimeter-solutions.com Small quake clusters can’t hide from AI Rice University

4 Awesome Discoveries You Probably Didn’t Hear About - Episode 41 A mattress becomes a skateboard wheel!?! Something missing in a mammoth Maya monument. Rock 'n roll -- with real rocks! And a deep relationship. (Except one eats the other.) It’s 4 Awesome Discoveries You Probably Didn’t Hear About…all with funding from the National Science Foundation. Utah’s rock arches continue to whisper their secrets https://attheu.utah.edu/uncategorized/arches-whisper-secrets/ University of Utah Upcycling spongy plastic foams https://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=300522 Northwestern University Exploring Methane Seep Ecosystems https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/deep-sea-worms-and-bacteria-team-harvest-methane California Institute of Technology Largest and Oldest Known Maya Structure Found https://nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=300785&org=SBE&from=news University of Arizona

The singing, song-writing robot, privacy advisory, cloud seeding succeeding, safer self-driving, and arming yourself with tentacles. It’s 4 Awesome Discoveries and a Thing You Probably Didn’t Hear About. New infrastructure will enhance privacy in today’s Internet of Things https://cylab.cmu.edu/news/2020/02/19-privacy-assistant.html Carnegie Mellon University Internet of Things (IoT) Portal: https://www.iotprivacy.io/login IoT Assistant app is available in both the Apple iOS and Google Play stores Shimon: Now a singing, song writing robot https://www.news.gatech.edu/2020/02/25/shimon-now-singing-songwriting-robot Georgia Institute of Technology “Into Your Mind,” music video by Shimon the Robot Scientists demonstrate that cloud seeding can generate snowfall https://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=300089 University of Colorado National Center for Atmospheric Research University of Wyoming University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Idaho Power Company Researchers look under the road to aid self-driving cars https://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=300108 MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab Octopus-inspired robot can grip, move, and manipulate a wide range of objects https://www.seas.harvard.edu/news/2020/02/tentacle-bot Harvard University Beihang University in Beijing, China Festo SE & Co. KG, Germany Credit: National Science Foundation

Stinging snot bombs, graphene from trash in a flash, coronavirus creature feature, and sweating robots – cool! Researchers create 3D-printed, sweating robot muscle http://news.cornell.edu/stories/2020/01/researchers-create-3d-printed-sweating-robot-muscle Cornell University Italian Institute of Technology’s Center for Micro-BioRobotics Rice lab turns trash into valuable graphene in a flash https://news.rice.edu/2020/01/27/rice-lab-turns-trash-into-valuable-graphene-in-a-flash/ Rice University Universal Matter Ltd. C-Crete Technologies Coronavirus outbreak raises question: Why are bat viruses so deadly? https://news.berkeley.edu/2020/02/10/coronavirus-outbreak-raises-question-why-are-bat-viruses-so-deadly/ University of California, Berkeley Albert Einstein College of Medicine Princeton University Charité Universitätsmedizin, Germany Duke-National University of Singapore Medical School Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research Stinging water mystery solved - Jellyfish can sting swimmers, prey with 'mucus grenades' https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-02/s-swm021020.php U.S. Naval Research Laboratory Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History National Aquarium University of Kansas Rice University Texas A&M University Stanford University California State University

Body surfing bees, unsinkable metal, faster space forecaster, and gutsy mealworms purge plastic! Stanford researchers show that mealworms can safely consume toxic additive-containing plastic https://news.stanford.edu/press/view/31674 Stanford University Detecting solar flares in real time https://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=299753 NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information University of Colorado Boulder Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at CU Boulder Bees “surf” atop water https://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=299799 California Institute of Technology Spiders and ants inspire metal that won’t sink https://www.rochester.edu/newscenter/superhydrophobic-metal-wont-sink-406272/ Related technology by High-Intensity Femtosecond Laser Lab: http://www2.optics.rochester.edu/workgroups/guo/media.html University of Rochester Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics, and Physics in China Credit: National Science Foundation

Spider eyes - jumping wise, kirigami graphene, design for the blind, and coming up for landing Kirigami inspires new method for wearable sensors https://mechanical.illinois.edu/news/kirigami-inspires-new-method-wearable-sensors Keong Yong and Ezekiel Hsieh, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Most complete exploration of fly landing maneuvers to advance future robots https://news.psu.edu/story/593959/2019/10/23/research/most-complete-exploration-fly-landing-maneuvers-advance-future The Pennsylvania State University Colorado State University National Centre for Biological Sciences in India Stanford increasing access to 3D modeling through touch-based display https://news.stanford.edu/2019/10/29/touchable-display-helps-blind-people-create/ Stanford University Vista Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute Compact depth sensor inspired by spiders https://www.seas.harvard.edu/news/2019/10/compact-depth-sensor-inspired-spiders Harvard University UC Berkeley National University of Singapore

High five… and a half, snakehead stroll, designer meat, and capturing the symphony of life... It's 4 Awesome Discoveries You Probably Didn’t Hear About! Walking Frankenfish, and other news Walking Frankenfish, and other creature features Bizarre creature’s feature Extra-long finger, super-short thumb Another bizarre feature of this bizarre creature Power of High-Speed Microscope to Illuminate Biology at the Speed of Life https://zuckermaninstitute.columbia.edu/columbia-scientists-demonstrate-power-high-speed-microscope-illuminate-biology-speed-life University of Columbia Nagoya City University in Japan Gimme Six! Researchers Discover Aye-Aye’s Extra Finger https://news.ncsu.edu/2019/10/aye-aye-extra-finger/ North Carolina State University Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle in Paris Real texture for lab-grown meat https://www.seas.harvard.edu/news/2019/10/real-texture-lab-grown-meat Harvard University Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Harvard Materials Research Science and Engineering Center Poor water conditions drive invasive snakehead onto land https://news.wfu.edu/2019/10/22/poor-water-conditions-drive-invasive-snakeheads-onto-land Wake Forest University Maryland Department of Natural Resources

Wildfire cocktail, electronic tattoos, chill dinosaurs, and office polluters. It's 4 Awesome Discoveries You Probably Didn't Hear About! ENG/Light-up tattoos use electronics printed right onto skin https://pratt.duke.edu/about/news/print-in-place-electronics Duke University University of Manchester UK ENG/How much are you polluting your office air just by existing? https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2019/Q4/how-much-are-you-polluting-your-office-air-just-by-existing.html Purdue University RJ Lee Group BIO/Huge dinosaurs evolved different cooling systems to combat heat stroke https://www.ohio.edu/news/2019/10/new-ohio-study-shows-huge-dinosaurs-evolved-different-cooling-systems-combat-heat Ohio University EdHR-ENG/Stanford researchers have developed a gel-like fluid to prevent wildfires https://news.stanford.edu/2019/09/30/new-treatment-prevents-wildfires/ Stanford University California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo Desert Research Institute Credit: National Science Foundation

3-D reconstructions show how ancient sharks found an alternative way to feed https://www.uchicagomedicine.org/forefront/biological-sciences-articles/2019/september/3d-reconstructions-show-how-ancient-sharks-found-an-alternative-way-to-feed University of Chicago Brown University University College Dublin National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh Look out, invasive species: The robots are coming https://engineering.nyu.edu/news/look-out-invasive-species-robots-are-coming New York University University of Western Australia Grains in the Rain https://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=299271 University of California Riverside University of California Davis Emory University National University of La Plata in Argentina Utrecht University in the Netherlands Stevens researchers to develop handheld device to diagnose skin cancer https://www.stevens.edu/news/stevens-researchers-develop-handheld-device-diagnose-skin-cancer Stevens Institute of Technology Hackensack University Medical Center

Rock-n-roll bridges, blinking eye-on-a-chip, high-flying low metabolism, and urban air “re-leaf.” It’s four awesome discoveries you probably didn’t hear about. Guitar hydro dipping http://guitarbuilding.website/ The STEM Guitar Project TXRX Labs Blinking eye-on-a-chip used for disease modeling and drug testing https://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=299115 University of Pennsylvania New way for bridges to withstand earthquakes: support column design https://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=299100 Texas A&M University University of Colorado Boulder Slowed metabolism helps geese fly high https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0855669 University of British Columbia University of Texas at Austin University of Exeter, UK Oak trees in southern U.S. cities are natural urban air filters https://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=299154 University of North Texas Baylor University Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies

Crocodile smile, incognito from mosquitoes, future frequent floods, and saving sea otters Article Titles/Links, Credited Institutions & Directorate: GEO/'100-year' floods will happen every one to 30 years, according to new flood maps https://engineering.princeton.edu/news/2019/08/23/100-year-floods-will-happen-every-one-30-years-according-new-flood-maps Princeton University Massachusetts Institute of Technology ENG/Mosquito incognito: Could graphene-lined clothing prevent mosquito bites? https://www.brown.edu/news/2019-08-26/moquitoes Brown University GEO/What’s Killing Sea Otters? Scientists Pinpoint Parasite Strain https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/whats-killing-sea-otters-scientists-pinpoint-parasite-strain/ California Department of Fish and Wildlife University of California Davis University of Nebraska GEO/No teeth cleaning needed: Crocodiles shed old teeth, grow new ones https://munews.missouri.edu/news-releases/2019/0813-no-teeth-cleaning-needed-crocodiles-shed-old-teeth-grow-new-ones/ University of Missouri-Columbia Credit: National Science Foundation

Rugged roach bots, squishy solutions squared, planting solar and Teflon-tested landings A Squishy Rubik’s Cube® that Chemists Built from Polymers Holds Promise for Data Storage The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology The University of Texas at Austin Researchers study birds to improve how robots land Stanford University Installing solar panels on agricultural lands maximizes their efficiency Oregon State University University of Utah You can’t squish this roach-inspired robot University of California at Berkeley Tsinghua and Beihang Universities in China

Seagrass shaves waves, right whale trails, lesson in corals stressin’ Hurricane storm surge survival Oregon State University University of Notre Dame University of Southern California US Naval Academy Study demonstrates seagrass' strong potential for curbing erosion MIT Localized efforts to save coral reefs won't be enough, study suggests Oregon State University, UC Santa Barbara Climate driving new right whale movement Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, University of Maine, Gulf of Maine Research Institute, Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at the New England Aquarium, University of New Brunswick in Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography, Center for Coastal Studies, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, University of New Hampshire, Institute of Marine Research in Norway

AI-boosted birdbot, greater tomaters, battery anatomy, and the evolutionary pursuit of carbs Hummingbird robot using AI to go soon where drones can’t Purdue University, University of Montana Scientists Create New Genomic Resource for Improving Tomatoes Boyce Thompson Institute, Cornell University, University of Florida, Robert W. Holley Center for Agriculture and Health/USDA-ARS, The Pennsylvania State University, Polytechnic University of Valencia, University of Georgia, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences You are what you eat: How the pursuit of carbs changed mammals’ genes and saliva University at Buffalo SUNY, Foundation for Research and Technology in Greece, Plattsburgh State University, Cornell University, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut in Germany Another step forward for a promising new battery to store clean energy The Ohio State University

Fabric fab for rehab, cooking up eruptions, down to the wire for virus testing and why researchers want the blues. It's "4 Awesome Discoveries You Probably Didn't Hear About This Week." 1. Off-the-shelf smart fabric helps athletic coaching and physical therapy 2. How pyroclastic flows cheat friction 3. New technique to test for viral infections 4. Blue, the low-cost, human-friendly robot designed for AI

Bloody-good sweat, changing climate/changing sex, sauce that delays frost and fab fossil find. It's "4 Awesome Discoveries You Probably Didn't Hear About This Week." 1. Sweat works like blood for health monitoring 2. Climate change impact when temperature determines sex 3. Delaying ice and frost 300-times longer 4. Historic discovery of 500 million-year-old fossils

Do the math for bedbugs, frog-skin lifesavers, cuddles for ICU babies and recipe against disaster. It's "4 Awesome Discoveries You Probably Didn't Hear About This Week." 1. Honest landlords can cut bedbug infestations 2. Frog skin bacteria may help humans 3. Wireless body sensors to monitor newborns in the ICU 4. Bacteria bio-cement could limit risk of coal ash spills