Technology
press releases.

Technology12 Feb 2024

Machine learning promises to accelerate metabolism research

A new study shows that it is possible to use machine learning and statistics to address a problem that has long hindered the field of metabolomics: large variations in the data collected at different sites. “We don’t always know the source of the variation,” said Daniel Raftery, professor of anesthesiology and pain medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle. “It could be because the subjects are different with different genetics, diets and environmental exposures. Or it could be the way samples were collected and ...

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Technology12 Feb 2024

Cyber Readiness Institute and Cybersecurity Manufacturing Innovation Institute launch free cyber readiness program for small and medium-sized manufacturers

The Cyber Readiness Institute (CRI) and Cybersecurity Manufacturing Innovation Institute (CyManII) at The University of Texas at San Antonio have launched a pilot program aimed at elevating cyber readiness and security within the energy manufacturing sector. This strategic initiative emphasizes CRI and CyManII’s shared commitment to strengthening their defenses against evolving cyber threats by providing essential support and resources for small and medium-sized manufacturers. Through this partnership, CyManII will provide up to 200 U.S. manufacturers in the energy sector with access to CRI’s free Cyber Readiness Program. Focused on human behavior, the Cyber Readiness ...

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Technology12 Feb 2024

There is no proof that AI can be controlled, according to extensive survey

There is no current evidence that AI can be controlled safely, according to an extensive review, and without proof that AI can be controlled, it should not be developed, a researcher warns. Despite the recognition that the problem of AI control may be one of the most important problems facing humanity, it remains poorly understood, poorly defined, and poorly researched, Dr Roman V. Yampolskiy explains. In his upcoming book, AI: Unexplainable, Unpredictable, Uncontrollable, AI Safety expert Dr Yampolskiy looks at the ways that AI has the potential to dramatically reshape society, not always to our advantage. He explains: “We are facing an almost guaranteed event with ...

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Technology10 Feb 2024

How ancient sea creatures can inform soft robotics

ROCKVILLE, MD – Soft robotics is the study of creating robots from soft materials, which has the advantage of flexibility and safety in human interactions. These robots are well-suited for applications ranging from medical devices to enhancing efficiency in various tasks. Additionally, using different forms of robotic movement may also serve us well in exploring the ocean or space, or doing certain jobs in those environments. To broaden our understanding of locomotion, Richard Desatnik, who works in the labs of Philip LeDuc ...

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Technology9 Feb 2024

Sensors made from ‘frozen smoke’ can detect toxic formaldehyde in homes and offices

Researchers have developed a sensor made from ‘frozen smoke’ that uses artificial intelligence techniques to detect formaldehyde in real time at concentrations as low as eight parts per billion, far beyond the sensitivity of most indoor air quality sensors. The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, developed sensors made from highly porous materials known as aerogels. By precisely engineering the shape of the holes in the aerogels, the sensors were able to detect the fingerprint of formaldehyde, a common indoor air pollutant, at room temperature. The proof-of-concept sensors, which require minimal power, could be adapted to detect ...

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Technology9 Feb 2024

Unlocking quantum precision: Expanded superconducting strips for enhanced photon-counting accuracy

Using single photons as qubits has become a prominent strategy in quantum information technology. Accurately determining the number of photons is crucial in various quantum systems, including quantum computation, quantum communication, and quantum metrology. Photon-number-resolving detectors (PNRDs) play a vital role in achieving this accuracy and have two main performance indicators: resolving fidelity, which measures the probability of accurately recording the number of incident photons, and dynamic range, which describes the maximum resolvable photon number. Superconducting nanostrip single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) are considered the leading ...

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Technology9 Feb 2024

Sandia awarded for outstanding work in technology transfer

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — One of Sandia National Laboratories’ core missions is to help the world through innovation. However, transferring some of that innovation from the Labs to industry isn’t always an easy process. Through hard work and ingenuity, some Sandia employees are excelling at moving technology to market, a feat that is now being honored by the Federal Laboratory Consortium. The consortium, composed of more than 300 members nationwide, provides a forum to develop strategies and opportunities for linking laboratory technologies and expertise in the marketplace. Regional Technology Transfer Award: Disinfectant ...

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Technology8 Feb 2024

Technique could improve the sensitivity of quantum sensing devices

In quantum sensing, atomic-scale quantum systems are used to measure electromagnetic fields, as well as properties like rotation, acceleration, and distance, far more precisely than classical sensors can. The technology could enable devices that image the brain with unprecedented detail, for example, or air traffic control systems with precise positioning accuracy. As many real-world quantum sensing devices are emerging, one promising direction is the use of microscopic defects inside diamonds to create “qubits” that can be used for quantum sensing. Qubits are the building blocks of quantum ...

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Technology8 Feb 2024

Notre Dame joins consortium to support responsible artificial intelligence

Extraordinary technological innovations have driven an expansion in artificial intelligence (AI) use. At the same time, they have brought little-understood risks to every sector of the economy. Now, as part of a new consortium, University of Notre Dame researchers will help establish the advanced measurement techniques required to identify the risks associated with current AI systems and to develop new systems that are safer and more trustworthy. The consortium, called the Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute Consortium (AISIC), was formed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce that works to develop standards for ...

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Technology8 Feb 2024

Combining materials may support unique superconductivity for quantum computing

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A new fusion of materials, each with special electrical properties, has all the components required for a unique type of superconductivity that could provide the basis for more robust quantum computing. The new combination of materials, created by a team led by researchers at Penn State, could also provide a platform to explore physical behaviors similar to those of mysterious, theoretical particles known as chiral Majoranas, which could be another promising component for quantum computing. The ...

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Technology8 Feb 2024

Leader in robotics at U-M and beyond elected to National Academy of Engineering

Feb. 8, 2024 Contact: Katherine McAlpine, 734-647-7087, kmca@umich.edu Image Leader in robotics at U-M and beyond elected to National Academy of Engineering Dawn Tilbury is recognized for advances in manufacturing network control and human-robot interaction, as well as engineering leadership ANN ARBOR—Dawn Tilbury, the Ronald D. and Regina C. McNeil Department Chair of Robotics at the University of Michigan, has been recognized with one of engineering's greatest honors—election to the National Academy of Engineering. NAE members are outstanding researchers, ...

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Technology8 Feb 2024

SwRI’s Dr. Alan Stern named AIAA Fellow

SAN ANTONIO — February 8, 2024 —Dr. Alan Stern, a planetary scientist and associate vice president of Southwest Research Institute’s Space Sector, has been named a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). Fellows are recognized for their notable and valuable contributions to the arts, sciences or technology of aeronautics and astronautics. AIAA cited Stern “for outstanding contributions to the exploration of the solar system and the development of commercial spaceflight.” “I am honored beyond words to be named an AIAA Fellow and thank my nominators very much, including SwRI Vice President Dr. Ben Thacker, who led the nomination,” ...

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Technology8 Feb 2024

Predictive model of oxaliplatin-induced liver injury based on artificial neural network and logistic regression

Since 2004, several clinical studies have reported that patients with OXA frequently experienced adverse effects of liver injury (LI), typically characterized by hepatic sinusoidal injury, splenomegaly, decreased platelet count and noncirrhotic portal hypertension, which can progress to nodular regenerative hyperplasia with long-term treatment. LI also decreased hepatic functional reserve and aggravated the postoperative course of colorectal cancer patients after hepatectomy, and may affect intraoperative bleeding, postoperative morbidity, and overall survival. LI can ...

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Technology7 Feb 2024

Q&A: Helping robots identify objects in cluttered spaces

Imagine a coffee cup sitting on a table. Now, imagine a book partially obscuring the cup. As humans, we still know what the coffee cup is even though we can't see all of it. But a robot might be confused. Robots in warehouses and even around our houses struggle to identify and pick up objects if they are too close together, or if a space is cluttered. This is because robots lack what psychologists call "object unity," or our ability to identify things even when we can't see all of them. Researchers at the University of Washington ...

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Technology7 Feb 2024

Quantum simulation with ultracold fermions unveils pairing pseudogap

A research team led by Professors PAN Jianwei, YAO Xingcan, and CHEN Yu'ao from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, have for the first time observed and quantitatively characterized the many-body pairing pseudogap in unitary Fermi gases. This achievement, pursued by the ultracold atomic community for nearly two decades, resolves longstanding debates regarding the existence of a pairing pseudogap in these gases. It also supports ...

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Technology7 Feb 2024

Quantum materials: Discovered new state of matter with chiral properties

An international research group has discovered a new state of matter characterized by the existence of a quantum phenomenon called chiral current. These currents are generated on an atomic scale by a cooperative movement of electrons, unlike conventional magnetic materials whose properties originate from the quantum characteristic of an electron known as spin and their ordering in the crystal. Chirality is a property of extreme importance in science, for example, it is fundamental also to understand DNA. ...

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Technology7 Feb 2024

A machine learning framework that encodes images like a retina

A major challenge to developing better neural prostheses is sensory encoding: transforming information captured from the environment by sensors into neural signals that can be interpreted by the nervous system. But because the number of electrodes in a prosthesis is limited, this environmental input must be reduced in some way, while still preserving the quality of the data that is transmitted to the brain. Demetri Psaltis (Optics Lab) and Christophe Moser (Laboratory of Applied Photonics Devices) collaborated with Diego Ghezzi of the Hôpital ophtalmique Jules-Gonin – Fondation Asile des Aveugles (previously Medtronic Chair in Neuroengineering at EPFL) to apply machine ...

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Technology7 Feb 2024

Innovation in stone tool technology involved multiple stages at the time of modern human dispersals

A study led by researchers at the Nagoya University Museum in Japan may change how we understand the cultural evolution of Homo sapiens at the time of their dispersal across Eurasia about 50,000 to 40,000 years ago. These findings challenge traditional beliefs about the timing and nature of cultural transitions during this critical period in human history. Published in Nature Communications, the researchers’ insights into stone tool technology suggest that the commonly held view of a ‘revolution’ in culture and technology that allowed anatomically modern humans to outcompete ...

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Technology6 Feb 2024

UTEP researchers win inaugural award to support lithium extraction technology

EL PASO, Texas (Feb. 6, 2024) – A group of researchers at The University of Texas at El Paso are behind an emerging lithium extraction technology that won the inaugural Hill Prize from the Texas Academies of Medicine, Engineering, Science and Technology (TAMEST) on Monday. The $500,000 in prize funds will support a joint research effort by Alma Energy and UTEP to extract lithium from hydrothermal waters. “If this technology succeeds, it would be a really massive breakthrough in environmentally-friendly lithium extraction,” said Benjamin Brunner, Ph.D., the co-inventor of the technology ...

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Technology6 Feb 2024

New EU-funded project "FOOD includes" aims to improve the inclusiveness and accessibility of adult education

In December 2023, the new "FOOD includes" project funded by the European Commission started at the Center for Lifelong Learning at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU). Over its 36-month term, the objective of "FOOD includes" is to increase take-up and improve the inclusiveness and accessibility of adult education. The project has been designed for adults with lower academic qualifications and migrants who are less likely to take advantage of continuing education and training opportunities. Therefore, the project focuses on activities revolving ...

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Technology6 Feb 2024

New water-focused innovation engine aims to turn waste into wealth for Great Lakes region

The waste in our water could soon generate new waves of clean energy development, job creation and economic growth across the Great Lakes thanks to a new regional innovation and economic development initiative launched by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). The initiative will fund efforts to find new ways to recover clean water, nutrients and materials for clean energy technologies from wastewater — all while removing dangerous chemicals. These efforts will be carried out by Great Lakes ReNEW, a collaboration of research institutions, universities, ...

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Technology6 Feb 2024

Do digital technologies offer a better way to loan people money?

A new paper in the Quarterly Journal of Economics, published by Oxford University Press, finds that a new form of digital technology—essentially preventing people from using an asset for which they have a loan if they don’t make payments, rather than repossessing the asset itself—may be a better way for lenders to secure loans, particularly for loan recipients in developing countries. Using collateral to secure debt helps overcome economic frictions, lowering the cost of providing credit. More than 80% of total household debt in the United States is secured by ...

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Technology6 Feb 2024

Breaking boundaries in quantum photonics: Groundbreaking nanocavities unlock new frontiers in light confinement

In a significant leap forward for quantum nanophotonics, a team of European and Israeli physicists, introduces a new type of polaritonic cavities and redefines the limits of light confinement. This pioneering work, detailed in a study published today in Nature Materials, demonstrates an unconventional method to confine photons, overcoming the traditional limitations in nanophotonics. Physicists have long been seeking ways to force photons into increasingly small volumes. The natural length scale of the photon is the wavelength and when a photon is forced into a cavity much smaller than ...

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Technology6 Feb 2024

New research shows AI dog personality algorithm could match you with your new ‘best friend’

A multi-disciplinary research team specializing in canine behavior and Artificial Intelligence has developed an AI algorithm that automates the high-stakes process of evaluating potential working dogs’ personalities. They hope to help dog training agencies more quickly and accurately assess which animals are likely to succeed long term in careers such as aiding law enforcement and assisting persons with disabilities. The personality test could also be used for dog-human matchmaking, helping shelters with proper placement, thus reducing the number of animals returned ...

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Technology5 Feb 2024

From Colombia to Laos: protecting crops through nanotechnology

In a recent breakthrough, DNA sequencing technology has uncovered the culprit behind cassava witches’ broom disease: the fungus genus Ceratobasidium. The cutting-edge nanopore technology used for this discovery was first developed to track the COVID-19 virus in Colombia, but is equally suited to identifying and reducing the spread of plant viruses. The findings, published in Scientific Reports, will help plant pathologists in Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand protect farmers’ valued cassava harvest. “In Southeast ...

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