This robot, called Simon, is from the lab of roboticist Andrea Thomaz, whom I profiled as part of the 2009 “35 Top Innovators Under 35” feature. Thomaz is striving to make Simon able to understand and convey social signals, particularly in learning scenarios, so that people can teach robots new skills without needing technical expertise. Simon is featured on the cover of Technology Review’s September/October 2009 issue.
In Solar Impact (pdf), the cover feature story of the March 2009 issue of Sky & Telescope, I outline what scientists know about the mysterious ebb and flow of sunspot cycles and how these changes may have influenced Earth’s climate in the past. Even the basic functions of the Sun are still an enigma to us, making solar research one of the most fascinating–and sometimes controversial–fields out there.
Solar Impact won the 2009 American Astronomical Society Solar Physics Division Award for Popular Writing for “carefully and thoroughly summariz[ing] the scientific understanding of how the Sun influences the Earth’s climate, with reader-friendly writing, illustrations, and pictures.”
Sky & Telescope, March 2009
Understanding Pathways of Calorie Restriction: A Way to Prevent Cancer? (pdf) was published in the April 2008 issue of JNCI. Scientists have found evidence that calorie restriction has many benefits for a number species and are investigating its effect in cancer prevention.
This photoessay, entitled Moore’s Law, illustrates Moore’s hypothesis through the growing visual complexity of computer chips in the last few decades. It was published in the Technology Review’s January/February 2009 issue.
Moore's Law
Nature’s Photonic Crystal, a TechnologyReview.com story, details how scientists discovered a diamond structure in a Brazilian beetle. The discovery could lead to advances in the field of optics.
