People have been using flat, ribbonlike materials, such as reed strips, to make woven baskets[1] for thousands of years[2]. This weaving method has reemerged as a technique for engineers to create textile and fabric structures with complex geometry. While beautiful and intricate, these baskets can also be surprisingly strong.
Dinosaur ‘mummies’ help scientists visualize the fleshy details of these ancient animals
Dinosaur “mummies” couldn’t have been further from my mind as I trudged up a grassy knoll on the Zerbst Ranch in east-central Wyoming, followed by University of Chicago undergraduates on a field trip linked to my “Dinosaur Science[1]” course.
As a university professor[2], I realized early that to understand paleontology, students would...
Giant ground sloths’ fossilized teeth reveal their unique roles in the prehistoric ecosystem
Imagine a sloth. You probably picture a medium-size, tree-dwelling creature[1] hanging from a branch. Today’s sloths – commonly featured on children’s backpacks, stationery and lunch boxes – are slow-moving creatures, living inconspicuously in Central American and South...
Space exploration in the backyard, on a budget – how NASA simulates conditions in space without blasting off
Humanity’s drive to explore has taken us across the solar system, with astronaut boots, various landers and rovers’ wheels exploring the surfaces of several different planetary bodies. These environments are generally hostile to human and equipment health, so designing and executing these missions requires a lot of planning, testing and...