Howard Hardee
Reporter, Mind & Behavior and Technology
Howard Hardee, based in Madison, Wisconsin, covers Technology and Mind & Behavior for The Academic Times. Previously, Howard covered mis- and disinformation as an election integrity reporter at the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism and as a local news fellow for First Draft, a global fact-checking organization. An award-winning reporter with a decade of experience, he holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks and in 2017 was honored as an environmental reportage fellow at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Alberta, Canada.
Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed a new way of producing biodegradable plastics — which often aren't as compostable as advertised — that breaks down up to 98% of them.
Inspired by the efficient behavior of insect muscles, researchers have developed tiny electrostatic actuators that could have wide-ranging applications in robotics. Their innovations include earthworm-scale robots designed to inspect tight spaces, such as the inside of aircraft engines or dangerous debris fields.
In research powered by machine learning, scientists found it is possible to tell which color someone is seeing by monitoring their brain activity, independent of their words for that color, adding to our understanding of how memories are formed and helping researchers better "decode" the specific features they contain.
French researchers have linked abnormal activity in a specific part of the brain to compulsive cocaine seeking in rats, identifying a potential biomarker for addiction and method of treatment through deep brain stimulation.
A new brain probe small enough to fit on a mouse without impeding its movements that can be left in place for weeks at a time could be a significant technological advance in neuroscience, providing reams of previously unavailable data on brain activity, according to the scientists who developed the device.
In October, a team of researchers at Purdue University rolled out the world's whitest paint, touting its ability to reflect the sun's heat from rooftops, sending it back into outer space. Now, they're back with a whiter, more reflective paint that could potentially ease our reliance on air conditioning and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
The music of another culture or era often gives listeners a perspective outside their own — but what about music from another species? Seeking insight into how spiders sense the world, researchers have transposed the complex structures of spiderwebs into listenable sounds for humans.
Research has suggested for decades that the sound of a person's voice affects how they are perceived by others, though whether these impressions are accurate hasn't been well established. A new study offers the strongest evidence to date that vocal pitch is predictive of at least some personality traits, such as dominance, extraversion and sociosexuality.
Most attempts at improving blood pressure-monitoring devices have been variations of the inflatable cuffs that compress patients' arms. But a new device developed by researchers at the California Institute of Technology could provide accurate, ongoing and noninvasive measurements of "absolute" blood pressure — all without the cuff's familiar yet unpleasant squeeze.
The highly popular ketogenic or "keto" diet, which restricts carbohydrates in favor of high-fat foods, could help ease the severity of alcohol withdrawal and reduce dependence on drug treatments, suggests a small study from the National Institutes of Health.
Robotics experts have long marveled at the swarm intelligence of ants and termites working together toward common goals. Now, new research demonstrates that computer-designed, biologically based organisms known as xenobots could wield that power to serve humans.
Researchers have identified a novel approach to creating and building artificial muscles that could bring real-life technology into the realm of science fiction.