United States
Jonathan is a science writer based in the Washington D.C. area. He is currently at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), where he promotes engaging research in the realms of energy, fire safety, robotics and more. Jonathan holds a master's degree in biomedical engineering from the University of Florida and has published pieces with ASBMB Today, CrossLink magazine, University of Florida News, and the American Geophysical Union.
Whether it's a new set of solar panels glistening on a neighbor's roof or a freshly installed smart thermostat at home, burgeoning renewable and smart technologies represent steps toward a sustainable future. But much of their potential will remain untapped unless the power grid is managed in a much more flexible way.
On a brisk November morning in 2018, a fire sparked in a remote stretch of canyon in Butte County, California, a region nestled against the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Fueled by a sea of tinder created by drought, and propelled by powerful gusts, the flames grew and traveled rapidly.
Liquids aren't as well behaved in space as they are on Earth. Inside a spacecraft, microgravity allows liquids to freely slosh and float about. This behavior has made fuel quantity in satellites difficult to pin down, but a new prototype fuel gauge engineered at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) could offer an ideal solution.
A shoddily tailored suit or a shrunken T-shirt may not be the most stylish, but wearing them is unlikely to hurt more than your reputation. An ill-fitting robotic exoskeleton on the battlefield or factory floor, however, could be a much bigger problem than a fashion faux pas.
Researchers have uncovered an unusual protein activity in rice that can be exploited to give crops an edge in the evolutionary arms race against rice blast disease, a major threat to rice production around the world.
A team of researchers led by Nobel laureate Aziz Sancar found that DNA damaged by the widely used chemotherapy drug cisplatin is mostly good as new in noncancerous tissue within two circadian cycles, or two days.
Factories mass produce goods for society and many emit greenhouse gases in the process, but not all are run by humans. Some factories lie underground and are operated around the clock by tireless six-legged workers.
Scientists have developed an automated early warning system for volcanic eruptions, according to a new study. The new system helped government officials warn the public of impending eruptions in Italy and could potentially do the same around the globe, according to the study's authors.
A strong solar storm in 1972 caused widespread disturbances to satellites and spacecraft, and may have led to the detonation of mines during the Vietnam War, according to new research showing the event may have been a more devastating solar storm than previously thought.
Millions of smartphones likely have vulnerabilities that could allow hackers to easily take control of phones and extract private information without users ever knowing, new research shows. What's more, the hack can happen when a user does something as simple as plug a phone into an airport charging station.