You can’t see me

Invisibility cloak moves a step closer to reality.

W HAT’S hot and w hat’s not in w orld science and technology:

RESEARCHERS from the the University of California, Berkeley, have develop ed an ultra- thin “invisib ility cloak” that “flattens” ob jects and turns them into mirrors. Having a thickness of50 nanometres ( 0.000005cm), the cloak is top p ed b y tiny, b rick- shap ed gold antennas, w hich control how light b ounces offthe ob ject and create an imp ression that light is hitting a p erfectly flat mirror.

W hile this cloak can only cover tiny ob jects ( the size ofa few cells) now , the team says it can b e scaled up and drap ed over anything. The gold antennas can also b e manip ulated, making the ob ject look like anything w e w ant.“You could cover a tank w ith it and make it look like a b icycle,” they say. See: http ://b it. ly/ 1Ojr8or FOR the first time, a mind- controlled rob otic arm allow s the w earer to know w hen their “hand” is b eing touched. Scientists at the United States’ Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency ( Darp a) connected the p ros- thetic arm to sep arate b rain areas that move our b ody and identify p ressure, and found that the study p articip ant could tell w hich finger w as b eing touched, even w hen b lindfolded.

Sending the sensation ofb eing touched b ack to the b rain w ill give those w ho w ear rob otic limb s a b etter sense ofcontrol, making it easier for them to move their p rostheses w ith p recision, the team says. See: http :// b it. ly/ 1OOnDn6 MEXICO is using drones to deter p oachers and p rotect the p recious eggs ofthe endangered Olive Ridley turtle. W hile the sale of turtle meat and eggs has b een illegal in the nation, p oaching is still ramp ant, w ith 80% ofthis w ildlife’s eggs stolen in one night w hen the guards w ere aw ay.

To b etter monitor the nesting grounds, Mexican authorities are flying tw o drones over tw o b eaches in Oaxaca state, w here around 70,000 turtles come to lay their eggs. Each drone contains six rotors and a GPS system, and can identify the footp aths of p oachers. See: http ://b it. ly/ 1KsuBLq THE elusiv e “vamp ire sq uirrel” of Borneo has finally b een caught on camera. Named Rheithrosciurus macrotis, the sq uirrel has long b een a sub ject among the locals ( sometimes as a myth), and is rep orted to kill chickens b ut only eat their hearts and liv - ers.

W ith p ointed ears and a tail doub le the size ofits b ody, the vicious creature b ears razor- sharp teeth and hunts for p rey vamp ire- style in the forest. Locals have learned to identify these kills, show ing how the sq uirrel jump s from tree b ranches to land on the necks ofdeer, sink its teeth into the arteries and p roceed to disemb ow el its p rey. W atch the video at http ://b it. ly/ 1NFQp HG and another at http ://b it. ly/ 1Kt70tZ HERE’S another up date on the journey of Nasa’s sp ace astronaut Scott Kelly, w ho’s sp ending a year ab oard the International Sp ace Station ( ISS) and having his b ody changes comp ared to his tw in on Earth.

Throughout his time in sp ace, ap art from drinking 730 litres ofrecycled astronaut urine, going through 383 exp eriments and exercising more than 700 hours, he w ill also p roduce 82kg offaeces, w hich w ill b e released from the ISS and b urn up in the atmosp here, looking like “shooting stars”. Check out the cool infograp hic that p rovides a snap shot at: http :// 1. usa. gov/ 1LfkBJA

Mandy Thoo loves to write about science and lives in Kuala Lumpur. Tweet her at @ techhead_