Big Ideas
Reshaping what's possible
Always Be Charging: The Australian government has given a $3 million grant to researchers at Swinburne University of Technology to prototype "embedding advanced wireless charging infrastructure on regional roads". The theory is to be able to electrify heavy vehicles and have dynamic wireless charging as they move. Swinburne suggests such electrification could save $324 billion by 2050 alongside all the environmental benefits.
Is handwriting better than typewriting for learning? A study by Professor Audrey van der Meer at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and published in Frontiers in Psychology, has tackled this debate and found evidence that you're better off with a pen in your hand.
"We show that when writing by hand, brain connectivity patterns are far more elaborate than when typewriting on a keyboard," says Prof van der Meer. "Such widespread brain connectivity is known to be crucial for memory formation and for encoding new information and, therefore, is beneficial for learning."
Engineering for a clean future
Rosie Barnes from the YouTube channel Engineering With Rosie drops by to share her knowledge on all things clean energy and community building.
Gone in 600 seconds: new Enovix EV battery charges in 10 minutes
While not quite as fast as a Nic Cage movie, the new electric vehicle battery technology from Enovix is still damn quick.
Why one cute hamster says everything you need to know about what online learning should be
Online learning needs to be about relationships, not just info dumping, or it is destined to fail to support the messy, real world needs of students.
How to pitch Byteside
Your guide to delivering a great pitch to write a Byteside story so it catches our eye and delivers a well focused idea readers will love.
Check out this nifty carbon-catching "artificial leaf" system
Researchers from the University of Chicago Illinois have created an "artificial leaf" system capable of capturing 100 times more carbon than other tech.
Lenovo's new eco-friendly laptops use recycled aluminium and vegan leather
Recycled aluminium and water bottles + vegan leather: all materials going into Lenovo's upcoming eco-friendly ThinkPad Z and Yoga 6 laptops.
Samsung adds Wi-Fi charging to its solar-powered TV remote
Last year, Samsung gave us all another reason to not lose our TV remotes under the couch: a solar-powered battery. Now, an upgraded version can recharge its
We discovered an undersea volcano that looks like the Eye of Sauron
A deep sea mapping expedition has found amazing new geological formations near Christmas Island that will reveal new scientific treasures.
Jeff Bezos and Blue Origin's motley crew lifts off in just hours: here's how to watch
The most phallic rocket yet is scheduled for launch. Here's when and how to watch. Whatever you think of Bezos, Wally Funk is the real deal!
Watch almost 200 Georges Méliès classic films for free online
Collected from across a wide range of YouTube sources, here's a playlist of 194 Georges Méliès classics in chronological order.
Branson, Bezos, and the Kármán line: how everybody wins this month's space race
Billionaires posturing over commercial spaceflight is the ultimate cockfight, but with Virgin below 100km up everyone gets to say 'First!'
Study shows free divers can drop heart rates as low as 11 beats per minute
New research shows elite free divers incredible control puts them in the same oxygen management league as dolphins, seals and whales.
NASA's Martian helicopter just keeps crushing its targets
Now nine flights deep into its extended mission, Ingenuity keeps pushing its limits – and keeps proving it has what it takes.
LEGO is prototyping bricks made from recycled bottle plastics
The company is investing $400M into sustainability projects, including turning recycled PET plastics into LEGO. And research is going well.
Scientists discover Triassic era beetle perfectly preserved in dino-dung
It's 100 million years older than any insect we've seen before, all thanks to a scan on some fossilised Triassic era dinosaur droppings.
We have never seen atomic imagery in this kind of detail before
Using advanced ptychography, Cornell University researchers have captured a picoscale image 3x better than the best electron microscopy.
"Cold snap means it isn't real" and other climate change myths busted
It isn't "good for us", it won't fix itself, and weather isn't climate. We bust the big myths wheeled out again and again by deniers.
Pentagon report says UFOs can’t be explained – that really is a big deal
The big report has arrived, and with no clear explanations we don't have to say 'aliens' but we do have to take UFOs seriously.
