A minute sensor to the rescue
Ships, bridges and wind turbines can all be made safe using sensors that are just a few millimetres across. Researchers have borrowed the principle behind the technology from a vibrating guitar string.

Ships, bridges and wind turbines can all be made safe using sensors that are just a few millimetres across. Researchers have borrowed the principle behind the technology from a vibrating guitar string.
How can we explain to school students how our nervous system works? An NTNU researcher has created a building kit designed to make our brain’s activity easier to understand.
Can Europe use the energy crisis to help accelerate its efforts to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050? The EU’s Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change says yes.
Singles and couples with children who have moved away from home are the group most positive to alternative living arrangements, while families with children living outside the city centres are the least interested.
A combination of interval training and eating only within fixed times of the day could be the key to getting rid of dangerous belly fat.
An explosion can hurtle fragments and debris at enormous velocities so they strike the surroundings. Then comes the shock wave. It’s a scary combination.
Peritoneal cancer is difficult to treat and has a poor survival prognosis. But a new and effective nanomedicine delivery system is offering some hope.
Energy consumption in buildings can be reduced by predicting their actual heating needs.
A recent large study suggests that being divorced or single increases the risk of dementia. But the researchers also discovered some surprising results.
Don’t tell me that you haven’t noticed them. Empty snuff boxes littered all over our streets and parks. But instead of being just rubbish, they can now be recycled to make new products.
Women often participate in non-violent demonstrations, and they can be of crucial importance. But what is now happening in Iran stands out from other popular uprisings.
Is it healthy to take a cold dip in winter? Is it true that most heat loss occurs through the head, and can we get ill if our legs get cold? Here is a summary of our researcher’s answers.
Many children struggle with reading. A new method offers hope. The focus is on giving children the right challenges.
Even seemingly small changes in the climate can change the number of animals and plants in an area and how species behave, new research shows. Natural history collections provide valuable insights.
The Moon’s atmosphere is entirely devoid of oxygen. If humans want to stay there for extended periods, it will be of great benefit to make breathable oxygen there instead of having to transport it from Earth. But is this at all possible?
The ability of gold particles to reflect light in different colours is used in applications from stained glass to pregnancy tests. Now researchers are set to exploit the same properties in an ultra-fast sensor for the coronavirus.
Big football clubs in the UK often have their own sports psychologists for the players. But can the players trust that their confidential conversations won’t be shared with management?
A new Norwegian technology is enabling the removal of an entire process stage from car component production lines. It makes the cars less expensive, more eco-friendly and faster to manufacture.
Plastic is useful but also poses an environmental problem. Scientists are now using enzymes from bacteria and fungi to break down plastic.
This summer, a coalition of researchers led by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology reported the first-ever use of a fibre-optic cable network to eavesdrop on whales in the Arctic. Now they suggest these networks be used to establish a low-cost global ocean-earth observatory.
There’s been no lack of scandals in the IT industry. When NAV, the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration, experienced difficulties in the middle of a major project, they changed their methods – and came up with a successful solution.
What should leaders in academia do to improve their gender balance? A new toolbox will help answer that.
Covering less than ten per cent of the world’s hydropower reservoirs with floating solar panels would yield as much energy as all hydropower does today, one researcher says.
Are you getting fat from playing way too many computer games? If so, we have good news for you. The game of BitPet requires you to move around in order to do well.