All Tech Considered

An illustration shows what a helicopter drone would look like on the surface of Mars. NASA/JPL-Caltech hide caption

A brown bear in its natural habitat. Wildlife ecologists in Minnesota found that black bears in their study experienced an increase in heart rate when buzzed by drones. iStockphoto hide caption

Can people tell a computer-generated story from a human-authored one? How about a poem, or a playlist? Three new contests hope to find out. ImageZoo/Corbis hide caption

One of these things is not like the other: A 3-D printed model of a beige cowbird egg stands out from its robin's egg nest mates, though their shape and heft are similar. Ana Lopez/Courtesy of Mark Hauber hide caption

ResearchKit, presented by Apple's Jeff Williams in March, enables app creation to aid medical research. Eric Risberg/AP hide caption

In a project called "Natural Frequencies," the bells in the Campanile on the University of California, Berkeley campus were recently programmed to play a score composed in real time by the seismic shifts taking place along the Hayward fault. Eric Risberg/AP hide caption

Emily Neblett, a patient at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital in Nashville, Tenn., demonstrates circuit pieces from the mobile maker space that are connected by magnets. Noah Nelson/Youth Radio hide caption

Dealer Omar Abu-Eid adjusts a stack of chips before the first day of the World Series of Poker's main event in Las Vegas last July. Humans still reign in most versions of poker. Whew. John Locher/AP hide caption

Many institutions have their archives stored on CDs — but the discs aren't as stable as once thought. There is no average life span for a CD, says preservationist Michele Youket, "because there is no average disc." Sarah Tilotta/NPR hide caption

Rodin's Left Hand of Eustache de St. Pierre, during the scanning process (from left); computer image created from the scan; inner anatomy; and exterior scan and inner anatomy combined for an augmented reality view of the sculpture. Photo by Matthew Hasel, render by Sarah Hegmann, Division of Clinical Anatomy, Stanford School of Medicine hide caption

Notes From Nature allows volunteers to digitally catalog thousands of scientific specimens, like this insect from the Calbug project. Screengrab/NotesFromNature.org hide caption

Cat Or Dog? Sure, you can easily tell the difference. But a machine may not be able to guess on the first try. iStockphoto hide caption