Category Archives: science

World Without Email

Electronic missives are a constant feature of the modern office. But how much does receiving and responding to email throughout the day steal our focus and stress us out? Researchers from the University of California Irvine and the U.S. Army … Continue reading →

Posted in science, technology | Tagged chi, chi 2012, CHI2012, email, email overload, email vacation, email-free, human-computer interaction, office workers | Comments Off

Lasers of Unusual Material

Today’s Nature Photonics story of a laser made of a kidney cell got me thinking of all the weird ways lasers can be made. Such as: they can be made out of a gin and tonic drink, on a stretchy … Continue reading →

Posted in lasers, physics, science, technology | Tagged atmospheric laser, gain medium, gin and tonic, kidney cell, laser, lasers, lasing, living laser, mars atmosphere, mars laser, natural laser, optical cavity, rubber laser, venus laser | Comments Off

Making a Little Hydrogen

This hydrogen generator is used to make small amounts of hydrogen for chemical reactions in the analytical chemistry lab at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, where scientists are searching for compounds that disrupt the growth of childhood cancers. There was … Continue reading →

Posted in science, technology | Tagged analytical chemistry, chemistry, drug discover, hydrogen generator, st. jude children's research hospital | Comments Off

Recent Stories: Cyborgs, Solar, and Data Storage

This post is a roundup of the stories I’ve written over the past few weeks. Without doing it consciously, I’ve totally carved out a cyborg beat. The most recent story is about a neural implant that is wirelessly controlled and … Continue reading →

Posted in science, technology, writing | Tagged data storage, HCI, Intel, memory, Microsoft, neural implants, NIST, photonics, plasmons, quantum computing, RICE, sensors, solar cells, Technology Review, The Economist, University of Washington, wireless, writing | Comments Off

Superconductor Levitation

This one’s from the e-vaults. I spent my first year of grad school making up undergraduate physics classes because I came in with a chemistry degree. One of those requirements was a laboratory class where we did things like measure … Continue reading →

Posted in physics, science | Tagged levitation, liquid nitrogen, magnet, Meissner effect, physics, superconducting levitation, superconductor | Comments Off