Written by Kristin Kish, Digital Marketing Intern.
Between school, homework, practice and spending time with loved ones, it’s easy to miss out on the latest in science, technology, engineering, art and math. But don’t worry, Thinkery’s got you covered. Here are some of our favorite STEAM discoveries from the previous week. It’s fuel for your weekend.
Can you imagine eating tofu that tastes like chocolate? What about steak? Scientists from the University of London are hard at work developing the Taste Buddy, a spoon that can trick your tongue into thinking it’s eating something else. How? Well, when salty, sweet and sour flavors are recognized by receptors on our tongues, a chemical reaction takes place. Taste Buddy interprets these chemical reactions and uses electrical stimulation to then trick the tongue.
The team is anxious to develop the device further and see if it’s capable of creating new flavors. Who knows? Maybe one day your vegetables will taste like ice cream!
Filmmaker Mike Gamble and VFX creator Tom Wood decided to film mountain bikes rigged with LED lights, and we’re completely obsessed with the colorful footage they captured. (TRON, anyone?) Take a look!
Root is more than just a robot that drives on walls—it turns paper or whiteboards into an intuitive and interactive coding experience. Perfect for kiddos both young and old, Root’s multi-level app translates programs for users of all ages and skill levels. Start out coding with basic color blocks and work your way up to a fully text-based interface that teaches Python, JavaScript and Swift. It seriously couldn’t be cooler. Check out their Kickstarter campaign and help bring more technology to classrooms!
A plant with blue leaves? Yep! There are more than 1,500 species of begonia, a flowering plant that thrives in tropical climates. While their leaves are typically green, several begonia species have a bright blue sheen on their leaves—a mystery that’s puzzled scientists for decades. Scientists from the Universities of Bristol and Essex recently discovered that the leaves only develop this sheen when placed in very dark conditions. Why? The leaves of the begonia plant use a nano-scale light-trapping structure so they can survive in the dark! Pretty cool, huh? Learn more about the begonia’s blue sheen here.