Nathan Hurst

Nathan Hurst blends a love of storytelling with a passion for science and the outdoors, covering technology, the environment, and much more. His work has appeared in a variety of publications, including Wired, Outside, Make: and Smithsonian.

The better we can track hydration in plants, the more we can avoid both over- and under-watering our crops.

This Snap-On Sensor Could Tell Farmers Exactly How Much To Water Their Crops

A team at Penn State University is developing a clip-on leaf sensor that measures water stress on individual plants

A geologist looks out into a caldera in Nevada's McDermitt Volcanic Field.

Will Supervolcanoes Help Power Our Future?

Vast new deposits of lithium could change the global politics of battery production—if we can get at them

A TEMS device mounted on eyeglasses, with the electrical signal recorded.

Blink Once For Yes: You Can ‘Talk’ to This New Computer Interface With Your Eyes

A tiny sensor mounted to eyeglasses can track eye blinks, allowing communication from locked-in patients

An image of a 2013 total eclipse, which Eclipse Soundscapes will use as a reference for this year's.

What Does an Eclipse Sound Like?

A new app will allow blind and visually impaired users to experience the upcoming solar eclipse on August 21

Robots in the "kid-size" (really around 16 inches tall) Robocup soccer league face off. These "Rhoban" bots, built by students at the University of Bordeaux, took first place in their division in the 2017 competition.

Why Funny, Falling, Soccer-Playing Robots Matter

The 2017 RoboCup brings small changes and big competition to a broad technical challenge

Bioluminescent cancer cells appear in a three-dimensional scan of a mouse with cleared tissue.

Transparent Mice Let Researchers See Cancer Spread in Real Time

By making organs transparent, researchers at Tokyo University can spot individual cancer cells

PhD students experiment with the glove in professor Tolley's lab.

This Glove Makes VR Objects Feel Real

Pneumatic "muscles" on the glove simulate the feel of real objects

"Steve" the aurora was discovered by amateur skywatchers, who are helping scientists learn more about this atmospheric phenomenon.

Will the Next Great Scientific Discovery Be Made by Amateurs?

There are more options than ever to get involved, and your input can help solve big problems in science

The orientation of the layers in this protective composite material were inspired by the queen conch shell

This Conch-Shell Inspired Material Could Make Helmets and Body Armor Safer

Scientists from MIT are using structures that evolved over millions of years to strengthen protective gear

This workout shirt has vents that start closed (left) but open when the wearer begins to sweat (right).

This Biofabric From MIT Uses Bacteria to Automatically Ventilate Workout Clothes

Would you wear microbes on your back?

A prosthetic hand outfitted with an inexpensive webcam lets its user grab objects with less effort.

Prosthetic Limb 'Sees' What Its User Wants to Grab

Adding computer vision and deep learning to a prosthetic makes it far more effective

Researchers at the Technical University of Denmark created these images using a new technique of structural color laser printing.

A New Color Printing Technique Borrows From Bird Feathers

Structural coloration, like that in peacock plumage, holds promise for images that don't fade away

A new safety test for foodborne pathogens involves an interaction between a droplet and bacterial proteins that can be seen through a smartphone camera.

Can a Camera, a QR Code and Some Bubbles Test For E. Coli In Our Food?

MIT researchers are pursuing a newer, faster test for foodborne pathogens

What’s the Environmental Footprint of a T-Shirt?

In-depth life cycle analyses are teaching us more about the environmental costs of the things we wear

Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden think that a helmet called the Strokefinder could quickly diagnose intracranial bleeding.

A Microwave Helmet May Help Diagnose Traumatic Brain Injury

Doctors find that a stroke-detection technology could be useful in screening for intracranial bleeding

Planet launched 88 more satellites in February.

How Daily Images of the Entire Earth Will Change the Way We Look At It

With more satellites than any other company, Planet Labs gives environmental researchers daily data

Charging Ahead: The Future of Batteries

Battery research is at a tipping point, and it’s never been more important

A Rolls Royce concept for an autonomous ship

What Will the Autonomous Ship of the Future Look Like?

Shipbuilding companies are experimenting with self-driving, remotely-operated and crewless vessels

The company fills pills with 15 different supplements, each in amounts from 0 to 100 percent recommended daily allowance.

What If You Could Take a Vitamin 3D Printed to Meet Your Personal Nutrition Needs?

Fred Parietti, CEO and cofounder of Multiply Labs, wants personalized nutritional supplements to start a whole new movement

The 20-megawatt power facility is located east of Los Angeles in Ontario, California.

Five Questions You Should Have About California’s New Tesla-Powered Battery Bank

The storage facility will collect energy when it’s readily available, and release it when demand is high. What does this mean for the future of energy?

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