Solar Car Sensation

A team of 60 college students at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, CA is working on the world's fastest solar car powered by nothing more than a hair dryer.

Learn More here.

Check out the World Solar Challenge here.

Artificial Womb

Scientists have created an artificial womb that might eventually allow doctors to bring premature babies to full term. Pediatric researchers in Philadelphia have tested the "biobag," a liquid-filled chamber that simulates conditions in the womb, on fetal lambs and they have had early success. The device has the potential help the 30,000 children born critically premature each year. 

Learn more.

Robots Make Sense

Boston researchers have unlocked an important advance in artificial intelligence. They succeeded in programming BB-8, the droid from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, to detect how people are feeling. The technology will be adapted for various applications including video games, robotics, and therapies for children diagnosed with autism. 

Learn more about these emotion sensing robots here.

Bras that Detect Breast Cancer

After his mother's breast cancer diagnosis resulted in a double mastectomy, Julian Rios Cantu was inspired to invent a bra that detected early warning signs of the disease. The bra, which is still is a prototype, detects cancer through sensors that monitor the heat and texture of the breast. The invention won a $20,000 top prize at the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards.

Watch it here.

Biodegradable Engineering

Researchers in California have found a way to produce a lightweight, flexible circuitry that is also biodegradable. Producing a semiconductor built on a base of cellulose, the main ingredient in plant fibers, might lead to ways to eliminate the growing pile of hazardous e-waste in landfills across the globe.

Read more here.