
Artificial tongue to lick fake whisky
Who else but Scottish engineers would think of using an artificial tongue to differentiate between whiskies? A new paper published in the Royal Society of Chemistry’s journal Nanoscale describe how they built the tiny…

Why doesn’t a dishwasher dry plastic?
After a dishwasher cycle, the plates and glasses are usually dry, whereas plastic boxes and cups remain wet. The difference is due to the different materials’ ability to absorb heat, also known as…

Moon landing celebrated by new ISS arrivals
ESA, NAS and Russion astronauts were launched to the International Space Station from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Saturday, with the ESA’s Luca Parmitano alongside NASA astronaut Drew Morgan and Russian Roscosmos…

The Sahara will be fertile in 10,000 years
Fossils in the bone-dry Sahara Desert reveal that the sand dunes are located in what was previously a moist, fertile region. Scientists used to believe that the Sahara switched between dry and moist…

Etruscan tomb with female aristocrat
Archaeoloy In a tomb in Tarquinia northwest of the Italian capital of Rome, archaeologists have made a remarkable discovery: Behind a stone shield, they found a vaulted tomb full of artefacts of the…

Yeti scalp actually belongs to extinct bear
British genetics professor Bryan Sykes from the University of Oxford decided to subject alleged remains of the Himalayan Yeti legendary creature to genetic testing. And the result is surprising. Sykes analysed two wisps…

What became of the US space station?
30 years ago, the Americans dreamed of building a permanently manned space station, the Power Tower. What happened? Space stations are the future In Science Illustrated No. 10/1985, the first manned US space…

A 3D-PRINTED SECOND CHANCE
Baby Kaiba seemed healthy, but when he was six weeks old, his parents were shocked to the core. The family was dining at a restaurant, when the little boy suddenly stopped breathing, and…

2014: a space odyssey
Brad Pitt is, Michael Schumacher is, and Stephen Hawking is too. They are waiting. They are excited. Some 580 well-known and unknown people have lined up for the adventure of their lives. They…

Super Telescopes
SOLVING THE MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE In the most desolate regions of the globe, astronomers and engineers are building a new generation of super telescopes. The high-tech structures will be spread across several…