Learn about in advances in powered exoskeletons—a kind of wearable robot—in this video adapted from NOVA scienceNOW. Correspondent and New York Times technology columnist David Pogue explores the development of sophisticated robots that can be integrated with the human body. The company Ekso Bionics
In this video excerpt from NOVA scienceNOW, learn about polygraph tests and lie detection. Correspondent and New York Times technology columnist David Pogue commits a staged crime and undergoes a polygraph test to find out how it works. Lying can cause stress, which produces common physiological res
In this video excerpt from NOVA scienceNOW, find out how a paralyzed woman manipulates a robotic arm with her mind to successfully drink from a cup. Correspondent and New York Times technology columnist David Pogue explores this experiment conducted by the BrainGate research team of doctors, scienti
Discover the instruments that Curiosity, a rover on Mars, used to gather and analyze soil samples in this video from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. In 2012, Curiosity took its first scoop of Martian soil to test and analyze from an area called Rocknest. One of the project scientists describes how
Discover how scientists plan to use data from the GRAIL mission and a map of the Moon's gravitational field to learn about its internal structure. By comparing data about the Moon's gravity with information about its topography, scientists can gain a better understanding of the Moon's formation and
In the early 1900s, the Wright Brothers found inspiration for their first airplane in nature. Their "Flyer," which was modeled on a bird's flexible wing design, was steered and stabilized by pulleys and cables that twisted the wingtips. Despite its success, this control strategy quickly vanished fro
In 1977, The Voyager program sent two spacecraft to explore the solar system and travel to interstellar space. In this video from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, learn how Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 are now the farthest any spacecraft has traveled from the Sun, and are still making discoveries in the
Learn how one company took inspiration from nature to reinvent the robotic arm in this video excerpted from NOVA: “Making Stuff Wilder.” Host and technology columnist David Pogue meets with engineer Heinrich Frontzek to find out about the Bionic Handling Assistant—a machine modeled after an elephant
Learn about the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) mission to Mars in this video from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Mars does not have a global magnetic field like Earth but does have patches of magnetic fields. Scientists use magnetometers to study the planet's magnetic anomalies.
Explore the complex process of designing and building a satellite using the MAVEN mission to Mars as an example. Plans for the MAVEN satellite went through a thorough review of the concept, budget, and risk analysis before proceeding to the next step of the process. Even after the design review is a
In this video excerpt from NOVA’s "Making Stuff: Smarter", host and New York Times technology columnist David Pogue visits Virginia Tech, where scientists are developing an artificial jellyfish that will act as an inconspicuous motion-detecting buoy for the Navy. The jellyfish is propelled by a shap
Launched in September 2011, find out about the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission to measure the gravitational field of the Moon and study how the Moon developed over time. Animations illustrate technical aspects of the mission's design, including the launch, orbital insertion
