Emily Matchar

Emily Matchar

 

Emily Matchar is a writer from North Carolina. She's contributed to many publications, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Atlantic and many others. She's the author of the novel In the Shadow of the Greenbrier. 

FOG (fats, oils and greases) in various stages of treatment

Turning Fatbergs Into Biofuel

Researchers have developed a new method for recycling greasy sewer blockages into green fuel

These electrode-embedded chopsticks can simulate saltiness.

Using Electric Currents to Fool Ourselves Into Tasting Something We're Not

Nimesha Ranasinghe is bringing a new dimension to virtual reality, embedding electric taste simulation technology into utensils

LIDAR can detect changes in the ground over time.

Driverless Car Technology Could Help Find Unmarked Graves

The same LIDAR technology that lets driverless cars "see" their surroundings can be used to spot changes in a landscape indicative of grave sites

Could spider plants alert you of carbon monoxide, or even the flu, lurking in your home?

Could Houseplants Keep Tabs on the Health of Your Home?

Researchers at the University of Tennessee look at the possibility of using plants as biosensors to detect dangers like mold or radon

The Boarding Glasses have two round lenses in front and two on the side, the hollow rims each half filled with blue liquid.

Could These Glasses Cure Your Motion Sickness?

These odd-looking spectacles are the latest invention to try to resolve the common ailment

Is there hope for B.O.?

Will a New Discovery About Body Odor Lead to Better Deodorants?

Biologists now understand a key part of the molecular process that results in body odor—and deodorants might just be able to disrupt it

A rendering of the venipuncture robot

A Robot May One Day Draw Your Blood

Scientists have developed a "venipuncture robot" that can automatically draw blood and perform lab tests, no humans needed

Rendering of the Tower of Voices

Building the Flight 93 Memorial's Massive Chime Tower

The Tower of Voices, being erected in Pennsylvania this summer, will feature chimes on a scale unseen anywhere else in the world

What Will It Take to Make Vegan Wool?

A team of Colombian students has created a wool-like material from coconut fibers, hemp and mushroom enzymes

"Time Banking" Is Catching On In the Digital World

Apps that allow users to pay for services in redeemable credits instead of cash are helping to build communities

Installing the water harvester

This Device Pulls Water Out of Desert Air

A new water harvester can extract water from extremely dry air, using only solar energy

A UNICEF staff member measures the perimeter of an acute malnourished child's arm in Doolow, Somalia.

Can AI Tell if a Child Is Malnourished?

A new program may be able to spot malnutrition in a simple photo, making it easier to assess nutrition problems in volatile regions

The imagined surface of Kepler-186f, an Earth-size planet orbiting a small red star.

NASA's New Exoplanet Travel Bureau Lets You 'Tour' Far-Distant Planets In 360 Degrees

Eager space tourists can now visit sunny Kepler-186f, a moon of Kepler-16b or the Earth-like TRAPPIST-1e virtually

A researcher holds the skin printer

This Handheld Device Could Print New Skin Onto Burn Victims

The machine prints sheets of a skin substitute directly onto burn wounds, potentially making skin grafting faster, cheaper and easier

Airbus and Zodiac Aerospace have teamed up on lower-deck modules like this one, with sleeping berths.

Seven Airplane Innovations That Could Change How We Travel

In-flight virtual reality entertainment? Bunk beds in the cargo hold? These innovations may be the future of flight.

The new water purification technique involves draping a sheet of carbon-dipped paper in an upside-down "V." The paper's bottom edges soak up water, while the carbon coating absorbs solar energy and transforms it into heat for evaporation.

Could This Low-Cost Device Provide Clean Drinking Water To Those In Need?

Engineers have created an upgraded solar still that uses carbon paper and the sun to purify water at an unprecedented rate

Sumit Bhatnagar, a PhD student in chemical engineering at the University of Michigan, inspects tumor cells used in developing a new diagnostic pill.

Could a Pill Help Detect Breast Cancer?

University of Michigan researchers are developing a pill that when ingested causes tumors to glow under infrared light

“We design the garments around what parents want for their children, what occupational therapists are asking for, what children are saying they’re most comfortable in,” says Sasha Radwan, founder of SpecialKids.Company.

Designing "Adaptive Clothing" For Those With Special Needs

Companies are releasing new inclusive lines that solve some of the dressing challenges that people with physical and mental disabilities face

IBM would like to teach its tool to design entire garments given just a few specifications.

Artificial Intelligence Could Help Generate the Next Big Fashion Trends

With a tool called Cognitive Prints, designers will be able to riff off of past styles and incorporate outside inspiration like never before

This Conductive Paint Turns Walls Into Giant Touchscreens

The interactive surfaces could make "smart" home features much more subtle and affordable

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