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Tracy Staedter

Tracy Staedter, Senior Producer at Seeker, has more than 25 years of experience as a science journalist. Before joining Seeker, she was the managing editor of MIT Technology Review and before that, managing editor of Scientific American Explorations. Tracy has written for Fast Company, Slate, Astronomy and Earth and authored the children's science book, Rocks and Minerals, part of the Reader's Digest Pathfinders series. In 2013 she founded the Boston-based writing workshop Fresh Pond Writers.

Latest Posts From Tracy

These Technologies Can Harvest Water From Thin Air
Space & Innovation
By Tracy Staedter

These Technologies Can Harvest Water From Thin Air

Two new methods for harvesting water offer potential solutions for addressing the commodity’s scarcity — even in a desert.

When It Comes to Exoskeletons, This Real-Life HAL May Soon Trump Science Fiction
Space & Innovation
By Tracy Staedter

When It Comes to Exoskeletons, This Real-Life HAL May Soon Trump Science Fiction

Cyberdyne’s Hybrid voluntary and autonomous control Assistive Limb, or Medical HAL, is a neuro-controlled exoskeleton designed to assist people with spinal injuries or neuromuscular disorders.

This Robot Assembled an IKEA Chair in 20 Minutes
Space & Innovation
By Tracy Staedter

This Robot Assembled an IKEA Chair in 20 Minutes

A pair of stationary robotic arms successfully executed the roughly 50 steps required to put together an IKEA STEFAN chair.

Making Paper From Poop Offers a Solution to the World’s Manure Problem
Animals
By Tracy Staedter

Making Paper From Poop Offers a Solution to the World’s Manure Problem

Researchers have developed a method for producing paper from a variety of animal manures, offering a possible solution to an acute environmental problem.

Humans — Not Bots — Are Largely Responsible for the Proliferation of Fake News
Behavior
By Tracy Staedter

Humans — Not Bots — Are Largely Responsible for the Proliferation of Fake News

MIT researchers found that fake news was shared on Twitter faster and distributed farther than true stories — and humans are to blame.

Just Like Bats, Humans Are Able to Echolocate
Behavior
By Tracy Staedter

Just Like Bats, Humans Are Able to Echolocate

A study of eight blind individuals found they were highly successful in identifying the presence of an object in a room using clicks with their mouths.

Music Was Just Encoded on DNA and Retrieved for the First Time
Biotech
By Tracy Staedter

Music Was Just Encoded on DNA and Retrieved for the First Time

“Smoke on the Water” by Deep Purple and “Tutu” by Miles Davis are the first DNA-saved files to be added to UNESCO’s Memory of the World Archive.

This Tiny Robot Dons Shape-Shifting Exoskeletons to Perform Different Tasks
Robotics
By Tracy Staedter

This Tiny Robot Dons Shape-Shifting Exoskeletons to Perform Different Tasks

Most robots have rigid exoskeletons that only allow them to complete specific functions, but new advances could make the future of robotics more dynamic.

Nanoparticles Keep 3D-Printed Alloys From Cracking
Materials
By Tracy Staedter

Nanoparticles Keep 3D-Printed Alloys From Cracking

Many alloys cannot be used in 3D printing because they tend to crack from the quick melting and cooling phases, but researchers may now have a solution.

Synthetic Muscles Could Help Robots Become Stronger and More Dexterous
Robotics
By Tracy Staedter

Synthetic Muscles Could Help Robots Become Stronger and More Dexterous

Researchers have developed powerful artificial musculature that expands and contracts in response to heat, which could better enable robot movement.

These Robots Merge Their Nervous Systems Into a Single Megabot
Robotics
By Tracy Staedter

These Robots Merge Their Nervous Systems Into a Single Megabot

Modular robot swarms with mergeable nervous systems can autonomously combine and separate themselves to form bodies of different shapes and sizes.

Bacteria Covered in Semiconductor Crystals Outcompete Plants at Photosynthesis
Earth & Conservation
By Tracy Staedter

Bacteria Covered in Semiconductor Crystals Outcompete Plants at Photosynthesis

Scientists have combined light-harvesting semiconductors with a catalytic bacterium to efficiently convert light, water, and carbon dioxide into chemicals.