13:18 05 January 2009  | 8 comments

Borrowing a trick used to steer cars without effort could make robotic exoskeletons more reliable and easier to use, a patent application claims

FEATURE:  10:50 05 January 2009  | 10 comments

The next generation of particle smashers might be considerably smaller than the Large Hadron Collider – and made almost literally out of thin air

IN BRIEF:  11:00 04 January 2009  | 10 comments

Brain activity that is "scrambled" in deaf cats develops normally if they are fitted with a cochlear implant shortly after birth, say researchers

01:00 03 January 2009  | 49 comments

Contributors to the free online encyclopaedia are motivated by egotism, not altruism, a psychological survey concludes

07:00 02 January 2009  | 7 comments

Need to appear knowledgeable on something you know nothing about? Software that does the hard work for you is the answer, a new patent application claims

11:00 01 January 2009  | 1 comment

Stunning 3D scans of subjects from chimps to murder victims from a team who's work has appeared in the CSI television shows

FEATURE:  11:00 01 January 2009  | 7 comments

Industrial robots are mostly power-hungry workhorses, but a new mechanical arm and hand uses no more energy than a couple of electric toothbrushes

08:30 31 December 2008  | 2 comments

A new way to scan the 3D traces of brushstrokes in oils could make it possible to "replay" the work of old masters

19:49 05 January 2009

Could space elevators one day be used to save the planet?

16:12 05 January 2009

Flying insects continue to inspire roboticists. Early in 2008, US researchers added an artificial control system to the brain of moths, effectively creating remote controlled cyborg insects. Meanwhile, others are busy creating winged robots that flap around like real insects.A...

15:24 24 December 2008

Forty years ago, astronauts went into lunar orbit for the first time - they took shifts staying awake and snapped an iconic image of the Earth rising above the Moon