In another example of unsettling biomimicry, engineering researchers from the University of New South Wales in Sydney were inspired by an elephant’s trunk and designed what looks more like a robotic tongue that can firmly grasp objects by wrapping around them like a snake.
Last summer, researchers anchored underwater listening devices to the bottom of the Beaufort Sea in the Arctic. Now, they’re making the treacherous journey to pull them up to see what they can teach us about the climate crisis.
Another cable has fallen onto the reflector dish at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, in yet another frustrating setback for this beloved facility.