Flatiron Institute

Economists have shed light on the vexed question of whether economic development can buy happiness – and it seems that life satisfaction actually dips among people living in the wealthiest countries. Politicians are intensely interested in the link between national wealth and levels of happiness among the population, but it is a subject which is

Regulators in California, home to more residential solar customers than any other state, agreed on Thursday to retain a system that compensates users of rooftop solar panels for their excess electricity. The decision was closely watched by energy officials and executives across the country, who are grappling with huge shifts in the power industry stemming

Apparently there are over 300 million people in the world today who suffer from some form of color blindness Apparently there are over 300 million people in the world today who suffer from some form of color blindness (or ‘color vision deficiency’ as the professionals call it). The problem can range from a mild form which confuses

Scientists at the Univ. of Southampton are aiming to develop a handheld testing device to provide same day diagnosis from a patient’s bedside. In the fictional Star-Trek universe, the tricorder was used to remotely scan patients for a diagnosis. The new device could replace the current conventional diagnostic method, which is lengthy and is limited

Research reveals new neural activity patterns that emerge with long-term learning Mastering a new skill – whether a sport, an instrument, or a craft – takes time and training. While it is understood that a healthy brain is capable of learning these new skills, how the brain changes in order to develop new behaviors is

It could save hundreds of thousands of lives each year It uses ultra-small plastic particles that attach to bacteria and drill holes in their cell walls, causing the bacteria to collapse and die. The innovation, which came about from a collaboration with the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) here, could be applied to kill

Sometimes It Saves Energy, Sometimes It Doesn’t — And Sometimes It Makes Things Worse It seems like a no-brainer: Remanufacturing products rather than making new ones from scratch — widely done with everything from retread tires to refilled inkjet cartridges to remanufactured engines — should save a lot of energy, right? Not so fast, says

Developing the cloak of invisibility would be wonderful, but sometimes simply making an object appear to be something else will do the trick, according to Penn State electrical engineers. “Previous attempts at cloaking using a single metasurface layer were restricted to very small-sized objects,” said Zhi Hao Jiang, postdoctoral fellow in electrical engineering, Penn State.