Malcolm Ritter

AP Science Writer
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Modeling AI ROI Like a CFO, Not a Vendor
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How Worms Navigate Narrow Paths Faster Than Wide Ones Is Informing Future Robot Design
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AIR’s Cargo-Heavy Lift UAS.
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This May 2, 2016, photo shows Thinx that are reusable “period-proof” underwear in New York. More than 70 years after the invention of disposable tampons and sanitary pads, some women are returning to environmentally friendly forms of feminine products.
Product Development
Women are Ditching the Tampon
In this May 27, 2016, photo, company representative Zach Servideo demonstrates Segway's new self-balancing scooter, the MiniPro, in downtown Los Angeles. The MiniPro is going on sale on Amazon, Wednesday, June 1, 2016. Hoverboards are attempting a comeback in the U.S., months after videos showing them bursting into flame went viral.
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August 31, 2026
This undated photo provided by Ciprian Ardelean in July 2020 shows a stone tool found below the Last Glacial Maximum layer from a cave in Zacatecas, central Mexico. Artifacts from the cave suggest people were living in North America much earlier than most scientists think. Researchers reported Wednesday, July 22, 2020, that the tools date to as early as 26,500 years ago, about 10,000 years before the generally accepted date for the earliest human presence in North America.
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Stone Tools Suggest Earlier Human Presence in North America
People were living in North America much earlier than most scientists accept.
July 23, 2020
This electron microscope image provided by Marie-Helene Moncel in April 2020 shows part of a Neanderthal cord from Abri du Maras, France. The The specimen is a quarter-inch-long, made of 3 bundles of tree-bark fibers twisted together, with an age of some 40,000 to 50,000 years.
Product Development
Ancient String About 50,000 Years Old
It's the first direct evidence of string making.
April 9, 2020
This undated photo provided by the National Science Foundation in January 2020 shows on of the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope's first images of the sun, revealing its turbulent gas surface in what scientists called unprecedented detail. Prof. Jeffrey Kuhn of the University of Hawaii, Manoa says this image is about 10,000 kilometers (6,200 miles) on a side, and that the 'bubbles' on the surface are about the size of Texas.
Product Development
Telescope Reveals Details of Sun's Surface
A telescope in Hawaii has produced its first images of the sun.
January 31, 2020
This combination of images provided by the Yale School of Medicine in April 2019 shows stained microscope photos of neurons, green; astrocytes, red, and cell nuclei, blue, from a pig brain left untreated for 10 hours after death, left, and another with a specially designed blood substitute pumped through it. By medical standards “this is not a living brain,” said Nenad Sestan of the Yale School of Medicine, one of the researchers reporting the results Wednesday, April 17, 2019, in the journal Nature. But the work revealed a surprising degree of resilience within a brain that has lost its supply of blood and oxygen, he said.
Product Development
Scientists Spur Brain Activity in Slaughtered Pigs
It raises hopes for medical advances and questions about the definition of death.
April 18, 2019
This artist's rendering made available by NASA in July 2016 shows the mapping of the near-Earth asteroid Bennu by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. Scientists had thought the asteroid Bennu had wide, open areas to scoop up dirt and gravel. But on Tuesday, March 19, 2019, NASA announced the probe hasn’t found any big spots for sampling.
Product Development
NASA's Asteroid Plan Hits Snag
A recently arrived spacecraft revealed the asteroid is covered with boulders and there don't seem to be any big, flat spots that could be used to grab samples.
March 20, 2019
In this December 2016 photo provided by the Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne researchers wring out an 'Oleo Sponge' pad to extract adsorbed crude oil obtained during tests at a seawater tank facility in Leonardo, N.J. Both the oil and the pad can be reused after this process.
Product Development
Modified Seat Cushion Cleans Oil Spills
It can soak up oil floating on water and lurking below the surface.
March 7, 2017
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Product Development
Patent Ruling Sways Biotech Fortunes
Federal patent office turns back a challenge to patents covering a widely used method for editing genes.
February 16, 2017
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Product Development
Scientists Want to Make Human DNA
Scientists proposed a long-term project Thursday that involves creating DNA blueprints for making human beings, a prospect some observers find troubling.
June 3, 2016