Good morning. It's Tuesday, Dec. 23, and welcome to this week's Science & Technology newsletter. First time reading? Sign up here or click here to share with friends. |
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This week we're covering 3D printing. The technology has become more accessible than ever before, and its increasing usage across industries has made us curious to learn more about how it works. We're also looking to the skies to explore the Hubble Space Telescope before grabbing our headsets to explore the world of mixed reality.
Let us know what you think! Whether it's feedback on our email format, a comment on this week's topics, suggestions for future coverage, or something else, we're happy to hear from readers. You can get in touch by simply replying to this email.
—Marco Machado, 1440 Science & Technology Section Editor |
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Fabricating Digital Models |
3D printing, explained
Unlike making products by cutting into or shaping raw materials, 3D printing creates physical objects from digital designs by stacking material in horizontal layers. Known as additive manufacturing, this method has been utilized for the highly customizable, less wasteful fabrication of objects such as industrial parts, clothing, surgical tools, prosthetics, biological tissue, and houses. 3D printing has reduced labor costs, enabled rapid prototyping, and shifted manufacturing roles toward digital design.
The process begins by developing a virtual model within computer-aided design software, which can be facilitated by having data from an existing object's 3D scan. The design is then exported to a slicer—software that cuts the model into horizontal cross-sections, similar to cutting a loaf of bread into slices, and generates printing instructions for each. Some devices print these layers by depositing melted filaments, resembling the construction of a wall from strands of hot glue (watch time-lapse). Others use light to harden resin or fuse fine particles into a solid structure.
Once built, fabrications undergo post-processing, which may include removing printed support structures, rinsing away excess powder, and smoothing surfaces. They may also be painted or chemically treated to impart specific properties, like scratch resistance.
Also, check out ...
> 3D-printed instruments have made playing music more affordable. (Read)
> Parts of the "ghost gun" allegedly used by Luigi Mangione were 3D printed. (Watch)
> How 3D-printed coral reefs are restoring ocean biodiversity. (Watch)
> Improving the lives of animals with 3D printing. (View)
Explore everything else we've found on 3D printing. |
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The Famed Great Observatory |
Hubble Space Telescope, 101
The Hubble Space Telescope is NASA's most productive mission ever, having made over 1.7 million observations since its launch in 1990 (view galleries). Named after Edwin Hubble—the astronomer who first identified and classified galaxies outside our own—the space-based observatory's cameras and sensors can capture visible light, and parts of the infrared and ultraviolet spectrum (learn how).
Hubble’s development can be traced to Lyman Spitzer’s 1946 vision of a telescope placed in orbit, which won full congressional funding in 1977. The first images it returned were fuzzy due to optical flaws in its primary mirror. Subsequent service missions repaired the flaws and expanded Hubble's capabilities with camera and systems upgrades.
Since the repairs, Hubble has long surpassed its original 15-year mission, observing a comet colliding with Jupiter, discovering that black holes can be found at the center of most galaxies, measuring water vapor in an exoplanet's atmosphere, and capturing images of the formation, life, and death of stars (explore more discoveries). The telescope is expected to be retired and burn up in Earth's atmosphere in the mid-2030s.
Also, check out ...
> Hubble revealed that planet-forming disks are common around young stars. (Watch)
> Hubble's infrared and ultraviolet images are artificially colored. (Watch)
> How Hubble contributed to Pluto's demotion from planetary status. (Listen)
> Fly through the deepest image of space ever taken by Hubble. (Watch)
Explore everything else we've found on the Hubble Space Telescope. |
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Combining Real and Virtual Worlds |
What is mixed reality?
Mixed reality products and software combine aspects of both AR and VR, allowing users to interact with both physical and digital objects in real time. Virtual reality relies on technologies that use screens to generate every pixel, creating a "virtual" world. Augmented reality takes views of the real world and "augments" the user’s field of vision with virtualized content (watch explainer).
MR devices utilize cameras and depth sensors to create a precise model of their environment, mapping both the locations of objects and a user's position. This data is processed on an ongoing basis to develop convincing spatial integration through realistic interactions between virtual and real-world objects (watch demo). However, these integrations can break down in low light and cluttered environments.
The technology has enabled clinicians to visualize anatomy for training and surgical planning, and allowed engineers to review and test prototypes without needing to manufacture them. Educational experiences have also been designed to leverage the technology's immersive qualities. Elevated hardware costs, battery and display limitations, and limited content availability have limited the mass adoption of MR (learn more).
Also, check out ...
> A mixed reality device helped make repairs to a quantum lab in space. (Watch)
> ... and let a team of hologram doctors meet with astronauts. (Read)
> The immersive mixed reality transformation of weather reporting. (View)
> How a failed parachute test led to a mixed reality exoskeleton in 1992. (Read)
Explore everything else we've found on mixed reality. |
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Like all great scientists, we love spending time researching the latest scientific breakthroughs, tech releases, engaging explainers, and the connections between science and society that are making headlines. Here's what we found this week.
> More than 70 new species were discovered by the AMNH in 2025
American Museum of Natural History | Staff. The discoveries span an extraordinary range of life—dinosaurs, mammals, fishes, reptiles, insects, arachnids, marine invertebrates, and a previously unknown mineral. Some were found through fieldwork, while others involved revisiting preserved specimens in collections. (Read)
> SPHEREx Observatory completes its first infrared map of the entire sky
NASA Jet Propulsion Lab | Calla Cofield. The map features 102 infrared colors, which are invisible to the human eye but can be used to reveal various cosmological features. Scientists will use the data to study how galaxies have changed over the universe's history and learn about the distribution of matter in our own galaxy. (Read)
> AI framework generates equations to describe complex dynamic systems
Duke University | Boyuan Chen. The system mimics the historical process of deriving equations to quantify the connection between measurable variables in nature by searching for best fits in data. It can also simplify nonlinear equations with thousands of variables into sets of simpler rules with fewer dimensions. (Read)
> Simulation suggests oceans provide net absorption of CO2 after hurricanes
Max Planck Institute for Meteorology | David Nielsen and Tatiana Ilyina. The model showed that hurricanes trigger a short-term release of carbon dioxide from the ocean, 20 to 40 times greater than normal weather conditions. This was followed by a less intense, weeks-long uptake, resulting in a small net uptake overall. (Read)
> Researchers create the world’s smallest programmable, autonomous robots
University of Pennsylvania | Ian Scheffler. Measuring about 200 by 300 by 50 micrometers, the swimming machines can independently sense and respond to their surroundings, operate for months, and cost just a penny each. Powered by light, they may help advance medicine by monitoring the health of individual cells. (Read)
3D Printing: Browse a library of 3D printing data files. (Explore) |
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The University of Maine's Factory of the Future 1.0 is the world's largest 3D printer, capable of printing homes exceeding 3,000 square feet in size. |
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