Like many mothers and daughters, Amy and Emily Dawson once filled their phone calls with everything from life’s biggest moments to the everyday details. But now, Amy speaks to Emily through a phone that isn’t connected to any line. After Emily passed away from a terminal illness in 2020 at the age of 25, Amy found solace in creating a “wind phone”—a quiet place where words float into the air, carried by the breeze to someone who can no longer answer.

The idea behind the wind phone isn’t new. For millennia, people have imagined the wind as a messenger. In ancient Greece, the god Zephyrus used it to communicate. In Christianity, the Holy Spirit moves through it. But the modern wind phone offers something tangible—an actual phone to hold and speak into, helping mourners process grief in a personal and symbolic way.

The humanoid robotics revolution is fast approaching. Across the globe, test models are already working side-by-side with humans in factories, while AI companies race to develop advanced foundation models that enable robots to perceive and interact with the world as naturally as people do. But while much attention is focused on the artificial intelligence driving these machines, their physical forms—the “bodies” that make movement possible—are just as critical.

At the core of these robotic bodies are mechanical components like motors, gears, bearings, and screws. Among them, screws play a vital role by converting the rotational energy of motors into the linear motion humanoids need to walk, lift, or perform delicate tasks. Traditionally, ball screws—which use a circulating track of small balls between a threaded shaft and nut—have been the standard. But that’s starting to change.

Chinese researchers have created a groundbreaking new material derived from moss that could significantly improve how we manage oil spills. A team from Guizhou Education University has modified sphagnum moss to absorb oil effectively while repelling water—offering a powerful new tool in environmental protection.

Oil spills, often caused by damaged oil rigs or burst pipelines, can devastate marine ecosystems and pose serious health risks to humans. Cleanup efforts can stretch over months or even years, underscoring the need for fast, efficient, and sustainable solutions.

Despite decades of research, the process of plant seed formation continues to surprise scientists. In a groundbreaking discovery, researchers from Nagoya University in Japan have identified an entirely new plant tissue—something that has remained undetected for over 160 years.

This newly discovered tissue, which resembles the shape of a rabbit, is the first of its kind to be identified since the mid-19th century. It plays a critical role in seed development, particularly in the transfer of nutrients after fertilization. At the center of this discovery is a structure now called the Kasahara Gateway, a crucial mechanism that regulates nutrient flow to the developing seed.

Tiny robots face two major hurdles: limited energy and navigating terrain that dwarfs their size. While walking robots perform well on smooth, flat surfaces, they stumble on rough ground. On the other hand, flying robots easily clear obstacles but burn through power quickly just to stay airborne.

Now, researchers at MIT have designed a new kind of robot that combines the best of both worlds—a miniature hopping robot that can traverse challenging environments with agility, stability, and exceptional energy efficiency.

A groundbreaking achievement in sensor technology has emerged from the Energy & Environmental Materials Research Division at the Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS). Led by Dr. Jongwon Yoon, Dr. Jeongdae Kwon, and Dr. Yonghoon Kim, the research team has developed the world’s first ammonia (NH₃) gas sensor built on a copper bromide (CuBr) film, manufactured through a low-temperature, solution-based process.

This innovation marks a significant leap forward in gas sensing technology. The new sensor is flexible, highly sensitive, selectively responsive to ammonia, and cost-effective to produce—opening the door for widespread use in fields like environmental monitoring, industrial safety, and medical diagnostics.

Researchers at the University of Glasgow have developed an innovative computer system that could revolutionize search and rescue missions in remote areas. By analyzing patterns in how real people behave when lost, this new method predicts the most likely locations where missing individuals might be found—without relying on guesswork or chance.

The technology, led by PhD candidate Jan-Hendrik Ewers from the James Watt School of Engineering, uses artificial intelligence to simulate the actions of lost individuals. These “simulated agents” behave according to psychological models and real-world data, factoring in needs like finding water, shelter, paths, or roads. The result is a detailed heat map showing high-probability search areas across a given landscape.

Researchers at Cornell University have developed a groundbreaking device that uses two of Earth’s most abundant resources—sunlight and seawater—to create carbon-free green hydrogen and clean drinking water simultaneously. This compact invention, known as the hybrid solar distillation-water electrolysis system (HSD-WE), measures just 10 by 10 centimeters and could significantly impact the future of sustainable energy and water access.

Traditionally, producing green hydrogen involves splitting pure water into hydrogen and oxygen through electrolysis, a process that requires vast amounts of clean water and is often energy-intensive and costly. In contrast, Cornell’s device turns the limitations of solar panels—specifically their low efficiency—into an advantage.