Josh Andah Editorial Board Writer

Articles

• The complicated history of American innovation

  At a small workshop in Georgia, an aspiring lawyer named Eli Whitney worked for several months on a new machine. He tweaked and prototyped until he got it to function just the way he wanted. Finally successful, Whitney wrote to his father, “One man and a horse will do more [with this new machine] than fifty men with the old machines.” He had invented the cotton gin. The year was 1794.

  Forum | November 16, 2020
• Conservation efforts should consider the effects of 'watermelon snow'

  Pink algae is accelerating glacial melting — you heard that right. Nick-named ‘watermelon snow’, the crimson-colored snow is the result of Chlamydomonas nivalis and similiar speciesgrowing rapidly. This algae grows on icebergs and colors the snow a pinkish-crimson color. The darker color of the snow makes it melt faster. In fact, the algae may have cause up to six percent of glacial melting.

  SciTech | September 25, 2017
• SciTech Briefs

  Fatal Tesla car crash with Autopilot on pinned on human error

  A year and a half ago, a man called Joshua Brown died behind the wheel of a Tesla while using the Autopilot feature. A truck merging into his lane was not seen by the software, hitting the Model T in the side and killing Brown instantly.

  SciTech | September 18, 2017
• How Things Work: Powerful hurricanes are powered by warmer seas and climate change

  Hurricane Harvey inundated much of Houston in several inches of water in a matter of days. This week, Hur- ricane Irma’s 185 mph winds are devastating the Caribbean and heading for Florida next. We’re right in the grips of hurricane season, so it seems like there’s a storm every other week. In fact, there are two others forming in the Gulf of Mexico right now: Hurricanes José and Katia.

  SciTech | September 11, 2017
• Uber rival Taxify launches, then halts operations in London

  An up and coming Uber competitor recently launched its service in London, then took it down a mere three days later. The Estonian ride- hailing app has been marketed as a much cheaper rival to Uber; it’s fares average half of those on Uber.

  SciTech | September 11, 2017