Articles By Clark Boyd : Discovery News

Scour Ancient Navy Logs for Modern Climate Models

Posted Thu Oct 28, 2010 10:37 AM ET | 0

Handwriting recognition software just isn't good enough to contribute to the Old Weather climate project. Read more

Plan to Build 1830-Era 'Computer'

Posted Thu Oct 21, 2010 07:34 AM ET | 0

Help bring computing history alive by volunteering your time, expertise or money toward a project that seeks to build Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine, a prototype computer designed in the late 1830s. Read more

'Removable' Chewing Gum Comes Off with Water

Posted Thu Oct 14, 2010 09:37 AM ET | 0

It's now available in the United States, where hundreds of thousands of tons of gum is chewed each year. Read more

The 'Levytator:' A New Twist on the Escalator

Posted Fri Oct 8, 2010 09:30 AM ET | 0

A freeform escalator could transport passengers along a moving staircase shaped like a DNA helix. Read more

Diamonds Shine Up Sewage

Posted Thu Sep 30, 2010 09:28 AM ET | 0

An electrical charge running through diamond-coated electrodes creates oxidants that neutralize nasty particles and organisms in water. Read more

Press Your Cremated Ashes Into a Vinyl Record

Posted Fri Sep 24, 2010 09:27 AM ET | 0

It's audio immortality and anyone can get into the groove. Read more

Klingon Opera Debuts on Earth

Posted Mon Sep 13, 2010 06:23 AM ET | 0

Some committed Earthlings have decided to stage the planet's first Klingon opera. Read more

Rock Your Inner Glockenspiel Player

Posted Tue Sep 7, 2010 10:54 AM ET | 0

This software auto-magically converts songs into three different practice-friendly formats to help people learn how to play an instrument. Read more

Dattoos: Body Art Melds DNA, Computing

Posted Tue Aug 24, 2010 10:45 AM ET | 0

Imagine a tattoo that integrates the power of your computer with your own genetic code. It's called a "Dattoo." Would you get one? Read more

Screw It, You're Dead Anyway

Posted Wed Aug 11, 2010 08:49 AM ET | 0

This coffin screws into the ground vertically. Read about 5 other unconventional methods of burial. Read more

Online 'Locker' Preserves Your Digital Life for Eternity

Posted Mon Aug 9, 2010 12:28 PM ET | 0

A digital safety deposit box lets you store the passwords to your online accounts, which a beneficiary can access. Read more

'Blood Cell Phones' Fuel War, Crime and Human Rights Abuses

Posted Fri Jul 30, 2010 12:20 PM ET | 0

Ewaste is a major global problem. But so too is the global trade in the materials that go into our electronics in the first place. Here's a bit more about so-called "conflict minerals." Read more

WikiLeaks Tech Challenges 'Top Secret' Security

Posted Tue Jul 27, 2010 05:33 PM ET | 0

One push of a button and WikiLeaks put some 91,000 documents at the public's disposal. Read more

British Hacker on Diplomatic Agenda

Posted Wed Jul 21, 2010 05:07 PM ET | 0

David Cameron, Britain's new Prime Minister, is currently in the United States for talks with President Obama. The two leaders have a lot of weighty issues to discuss: the BP oil spill and the war in Afghanistan spring to mind. ... Read more

Estonia's 'Johnny Appleseed' of Free Wi-Fi

Posted Sun Jul 11, 2010 09:39 AM ET | 0

Veljo Haamer dreams of one day making the entire country of Estonia one giant hotspot. Read more