Colin Jeffrey
New Atlas
Australia
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Past articles by Colin:
Super-sensitive nanofiber can hear individual cells and detect swimming bacteria
With the development of a nano-scale optic fiber detector, UCSD researchers have created a tiny device so sensitive that it can detect the waves produced by swimming bacteria and hear the beating of individual muscle cells of the heart. → Read More
Paper-based plasma generators zap bacteria
Scientists at Rutgers University have created paper-based plasma generators that could one day be worn on clothing or fitted to equipment to zap any bug they come into contact with, cheaply and easily. → Read More
Triple threat: Perovskite material generates electricity from light, heat, and movement
Energy harvesting devices that generate electricity from light, heat, and mechanical pressure in a single package may soon be possible. Researchers from the University of Oulu have discovered a crystal mineral material that is able to simultaneously generate electricity from all these sources. → Read More
1-cent "lab on a chip" could save lives
With little more than a standard inkjet printer, some silicone, and a sheet of polymer film, Stanford researchers have created a reusable diagnostic "lab on a chip" that costs just 1 cent to make. This new technology could help vastly improve disease detection worldwide. → Read More
"Near-perfect" broadband absorber with potential in solar cells, windows and stealth
A new flexible material can block various portions of the electromagnetic spectrum while allowing others through. The material has the potential to improve solar cell efficiencies and create window coatings that not only let in visible light and keep out heat, but also block electromagnetic signals. → Read More
Bizarre metal conducts electricity without heating up
Metals that conduct electricity also produce heat, right? Well, no, not all of them, according to recent research led by Berkeley Lab. They've found one type of metal that keeps its cool as electrical current moves through it, and may lead to a range of new and super-efficient electrical devices. → Read More
Oily alchemy: Turning soybeans into graphene
Graphene, the new wunderkind for all sorts of emerging technologies, is still a little too expensive to produce on a commercial scale. Now scientists at CSIRO have come up with a way to create graphene from soy beans, cheaply, quickly, and without all the nasty chemicals usually needed. → Read More
Scientists unleash graphene’s innate superconductivity
Scientists at the University of Cambridge claim to have discovered a method to trigger the superconducting properties of graphene without actually altering its chemical structure. → Read More
BAE explores airborne laser deflector shield concept
Researchers at BAE Systems believe that a new type of atmosphere-altering directed energy laser and lens system that may make laser defense shields a real possibility in as little as fifty years from now → Read More
Wild 1955 turbine-powered Chrysler show car set for auction
The Chrysler Ghia Streamline X "Gilda" is is a one-off, turbine-powered concept car from 1955. Now this fully operational, outrageous looking machine is set for auction. → Read More
Outer layer of human heart regrown using stem cells
Researchers at Pennsylvania State University have used human stem cells to regenerate the cells that cover the external surface of a human heart. The new research may one day help replace damaged tissues caused by a heart attack or genetic defects → Read More
Fixed-wing drone learns to land like a bird
Researchers at the University of Bristol, claim to have created an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that has learned to land like a perching bird with the help of some clever algorithms and morphing wings. → Read More
New technique stores summer heat until it's needed in winter
Swiss researchers have created a system that stores heat captured during summer for use in winter, with the added benefit that the captured energy can be physically transported anywhere it may be needed. → Read More
First transparent OLED display with graphene electrodes created
Researchers have created OLED (organic light-emitting display) electrodes from graphene. This could lead the way to a range of new components, including better touchscreens and much more efficient solar cells → Read More
Large quantities of synthetic spider silk spun on demand
Lightweight and extremely strong, spider silk is ideal for use in many applications. Unfortunately, large numbers of spiders are hard to handle and produce very little silk individually. Now researchers have created a prototype process to spin silk thread grown by bacteria on a large scale. → Read More
NASA plots 2017 solar eclipse path with best accuracy yet
Combining elevation data gathered by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter with Earth topography data, NASA researchers have produced the most accurate path map ever created for the path of totality of the total solar eclipse that will be seen across a large swath of the United States later this year. → Read More
Super-thin electrical wires are made from tiny diamond bits
At just three atoms wide, scientists from Stanford University and the SLAC laboratory say they've created the world's thinnest nanowire assembled from diamondoids. The researchers believe that the new wire could be useful in a range of applications including energy-generating materials. → Read More
New telescope tools will probe universe for water
New receivers on the ALMA radio telescope in Chile have been designed to help scientists search the cosmos for water - an essential ingredient in the search for possible carbon-based extraterrestrial life → Read More
New prehistoric bird unearthed from a toasty Canadian Arctic of long ago
Scientists have unearthed a new bird species from fossils in the Canadian Arctic dating back about 90 million years, making them the oldest records of avian species found so far north and suggesting an intense warming event occurred during the late Cretaceous period. → Read More
Jetstream becomes "flying testbed" for autonomous systems
BAE Systems has refitted a Jetstream 31 test aircraft previously used in autonomous flight research as a testbed for a series of trials aimed at proving the safety and reliability of satellite-communications based autonomous aircraft technologies. → Read More